Michael Kinsley Quotes (33 Quotes)


    What did this guy do wrong Was it having these views, or merely expressing them Expecting journalists not to develop opinions, strong opinions even, goes against human nature and the particular nature of journalists.

    The most embarrassing thing (in the Times' package) is that (Miller's editors) told her to stop writing about that but she kept writing about it, anyway.

    That seemed like an insult, ... I guess it was. Even after that, I thought he maybe put it badly and he didn't mean to be sending out these go-away vibes. But it turns out he put it exactly right.

    When one does all these things to increase the attractiveness of the place, does that not drive us toward a place where only the rich are able to take advantage of it That was a concern of ours from the very beginning. The cause is what might be called non-price sensitive demand, people that can pay virtually anything. We were thinking ahead enough to realize it would get worse very quickly. We started thinking about this in '75. It may be the most aggressive affordable housing in the country. It wasn't enough.



    The equal protection clause was a handy tool because just about anything the government does or doesn't do can be framed as treating people unequally.

    In 1977, at least, he wished to have people believe that he shared and was proud of an attitude toward women that is not acceptable in a politician. In 2003, all he has said is that he doesn't remember the interview.

    In any event, the proper question isn't what a journalist thinks is relevant but what his or her audience thinks is relevant. Denying people information they would find useful because you think they shouldn't find it useful is censorship, not journalism.

    Conservatives and liberals alike have been waiting for this moment for a third of a century.

    So the danger of conservative judicial activism has been averted for another year. Stay tuned.

    He's nice enough not to want to be associated with a nasty remark but not nice enough not to make it. Lacking the courage of one's nastiness does not make one nice.


    A couple of weeks ago, the court ruled that states cannot exempt themselves from federal laws against the medical use of marijuana.

    Unless you do something aggressive (about housing) soon, you're going to get into trouble deeper and deeper, faster and faster.

    This agreement with America Online will introduce millions of additional people to the fastest way to get smart about the news and events of the week.

    The logic is often far-fetched - how does medical marijuana affect interstate commerce? - and some conservatives would like judges to start throwing out federal laws wholesale on commerce clause grounds. The court once again said no thanks.

    Almost any government activity can also be seen as taking property "without just compensation." The basic model of an unconstitutional "taking" would be if the government threw you out of your house.

    If sexual intercourse, as the poets tell us, began in 1963, it was another decade and a half before the American political system began to take notice.

    He hasn't said whether he remembers the episode itself - or, if he doesn't, whether that is because it never happened or because it happened too often to keep track. More important, he hasn't said what he thinks about it all from the perspective of 2003.

    I have always enjoyed the myth of The New Republic's golden age. The magazine is still very much in the Washington mix. It doesn't necessarily move the debate, but I think it can stir things up.

    Of course, conservatives always claim to be against judicial activism.

    Once, I would drive across town if necessary to buy a newspaper. Today, I open the front door and if the paper isn't within about 10 feet I retreat to my computer and read it online. Only six months ago, that figure was 20 feet. Extrapolating, they will have to bring it to me in bed by the end of the year and read it to me out loud by the second quarter of 2007.

    In recurring episodes over the next couple of decades, the minority view gradually won. A profusion of factors differentiates each case from the others, including naked partisanship on both sides, but the trend has been clear.

    That is worth keeping in mind while you try to decide whether American credibility or Iraqi prosperity or Middle East stability can justify the cost in blood and treasure. And don't forget to factor in the likelihood that the war will actually produce these fine things.

    Although in a narrow sense this was a victory for a conservative policy, in a wider sense it also closed off an avenue for conservative activism.

    In those days, the late 1970s, one of the leading politicians was a soon-to-be uncle by marriage of Arnold Schwarzenegger, named Ted Kennedy.

    It wouldn't be fair to say that conservatives cherish property the way liberals cherish equality. But it would be fair to say that the takings clause is the conservatives' recipe for judicial activism just as they say liberals have misused the equal protection clause.

    One answer is that the town's elected officials thought that the project served a public purpose and that the various subsidies and favors were worth the price. But they may or may not have thought this.

    The case decided on Thursday, though, seemed promising to takings fans because it wasn't about compensation. It was about the requirement that any government taking must have a "public purpose."

    The Internet beat TV and print to this story, and ultimately forced it on them, for one simple reason lower standards.

    A Supreme Court decision that concessions of this sort were unconstitutional would have taken them off the table and actually increased the effective sovereignty of elected officials.

    The "takings" clause of the Fifth Amendment is for conservatives what the equal protection clause of the 14th is for liberals.

    They can't take your house and give it to the mayor's mistress, even if they pay you for it. But they can, apparently, take your house and tear it down to make room for a development of trendy shops and restaurants, a hotel and so on.


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