by Bob Barr | Sep 4, 2019 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.comAnyone hoping to find consistency in how courts are assigning responsibility for the so-called “opioid crisis” will be sadly disappointed. Last May, a North Dakota judge dismissed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma that sought to hold the pharmaceutical manufacturer responsible for that state’s opioid problem. Just last week, an Oklahoma judge in a very similar case decided to take the opposite approach and found that another drug manufacturing giant, Johnson & Johnson, was responsible for the state’s high number of individuals using the opioids it manufactured; to the tune of nearly $600 million.In each of these lawsuits, the pharmaceutical company was charged under the respective state’s “nuisance” laws, with engaging in “deceptive” marketing practices that in turn caused and contributed to individuals’ opioid addiction. Using nuisance laws in this way — targeting deep-pocketed corporations selling or manufacturing dis-favored products within a state – is a legal maneuver increasingly favored by aggressive state attorneys general to attack everything from cigarettes to firearms. Considering the facts in these two most recent opioid cases were very similar, why were the judges’ rulings dramatically different? As Reason’s Jacob Sullum put it, the rulings “pit a simple narrative of the ‘opioid crisis’ with a clear set of villains against a more complicated story that’s closer to the truth.” In other words, the two courts had very different concepts of “justice” regardless of the facts presented.In North Dakota, both sides of the controversy were argued and weighed, with Judge James Hill holding that the State failed to meet its burden of proof; not that Purdue was completely innocent, but rather the State did not have sufficient evidence to find the...
by Bob Barr | Sep 3, 2019 | Uncategorized |
The Daily CallerWith the U.S. House reconvening this week, the agenda will be both predictable and meaningless. Led by Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York, Democrats will clamor for bans on “assault weapons” and “high capacity” magazines. They will demand “universal” background checks and “red flag” laws. Nothing will happen that will help solve the problem of mass shootings.As has been the GOP’s standard operating procedure, Senate leaders could simply wait for the Democrat-controlled House to pass the same cookie-cutter gun-control measures it pulls out of its arsenal every time it has the opportunity and refuse to bring the legislation to the Senate floor for votes. Or, Senate Republicans could actually do something meaningful — immediately convene hearings and call as witnesses top administration officials who can substantively address the real issues and provide information that can guide meaningful solutions.Start with the law already on the books — the so-called “Fix NICS” Act signed last year by President Trump, and to have been fully implemented this summer. This statute was designed expressly to plug shortcomings in the system of FBI-administered background checks preceding every commercial firearm sale in the country; yet which has been demonstrably plagued by “bad information in” that results in mistakes being made with sometimes tragic consequences, as happened in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015 and Sutherland Springs, Texas two years later.Bring forward the two key government officials most responsible for ensuring that the NICS system works as intended and as amended, before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Instead of rote talking points, these officials could provide direct and relevant answers to the Congress and the...
by Bob Barr | Aug 28, 2019 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.comHigher education in America today should come with the disclaimer, caveat emptor. The cost of tuition has more than doubled in the last two decades, with the value of a four-year college degree heading in the opposite direction. The “fix” championed by Democratic Party leaders – a bailout for those already graduated, and “free” tuition for those entering the pipeline – will only make matters worse.A part of this long-developing problem is simply supply and demand; the overabundance of bachelor’s degrees in the market means they are worth less in the eyes of employers. There also is more talent in the marketplace for specialized jobs, meaning graduates with narrowly tailored degrees in obscure fields are less likely to find employment regardless of how much they spent on those degrees. Moreover, employers cannot be sure about the quality of graduates; are they getting someone who is smart and capable in the workplace, or a lite snowflake who melts outside the “safe space” sanctuary of college.It is a badly broken system, and cannot be remedied by the Democratic Party’s much-ballyhooed “bailout” proposals. The $1.6 trillion student loan crisis is not to be ignored or overlooked. The massive amount of debt shouldered by mostly young Americans has been shown to have a sweeping economic and social impact — from delaying marriages and having children, to stunting small business entrepreneurship. Yet, a bailout of student loans, in the form of cancellation or forgiveness such as supported by almost all of the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls, absolves from responsibility those whose policies caused the problem, while doing nothing to address the root cause. In other words, the standard Democratic strategy.No...
