The empty seat on the U.S. Supreme Court from the death of Justice Antonin Scalia has been one of the most contentious political footballs in Washington. But the confirmation hearings of President Tump nominee Neil Gorsuch may have somewhat mitigated political damage to the judiciary.“The quality level of our top judges, both as lawyers and as people, is incredibly high in this country, and when you see what these folks are really like, it tends to settle people down a bit,” says law professor Ernest Young.
Read More in The Christian Science Monitor
The GOP Effort To Repeal Obamacare Appears Dead, For Now
David Anderson, an expert in insurance plan design at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, explains how under the GOP plan insurers would use their newfound freedom to exclude potentially costly customers. “The first stream of product design will be aimed to cover very little,” he says. “They will be very narrow networks with no major academic medical centers involved; their benefits will be designed to drive away sick people with chronic conditions.”
Read More in The Los Angeles Times
Understanding the Freedom Caucus
“Everyone who cares about Congress should take note. Last week the House Freedom Caucus hijacked our legislative branch and trumped the Republican Party. It wasn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last,” writes Bradley Harris, a master’s of public policy candidate at the Sanford School of Public Policy.
Sesame Street’s New Muppet With Autism Is a Reminder That Congress Can’t Pass the AHCA
“It’s a challenging moment for the one in 68 children and millions of American adults who are on the autism spectrum. President Donald Trump and Republicans’ proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, with the American Health Care Act (AHCA) would eliminate the law’s Medicaid expansion, which serves many people with autism,” writes Geraldine Dawson, director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development and president of the International Society for Autism Research.
Read More on Fortune
Why Hate Crimes Are A National Security Risk
Hate crimes deserve the new administration’s attention, and not only because they are abhorrent, says David Schanzer, associate professor of the praactice at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Anti-Muslim hate crimes and bigotry also threaten our national security, says Schanzer, who also directs the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.
Listen on the Glad You Asked Podcast
Should Congress Cut The EnergyStar Program?
It makes little sense to eliminate a program that has demonstrable benefits for the economy with fairly low cost to taxpayers, says economist Gale Boyd, who has studied energy efficiency in the industrial sector for over 25 years. “It seems short-sighted at best to eliminate a program like this,” he says. “If we’re interested in revitalizing the manufacturing sector, there may be lots of ways to do that, but having companies become more profitable by being more energy efficient, I think, is a smart strategy.”
Read More in Vice
Duke Engineering Dean Discusses Confronting, Overcoming Biases
Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering Dean Ravi Bellamkonda explains why diverse university settings can be an important catalyst in helping society confront and overcome biases. He says we have perceptions of what “other” is – Africa, Asia, gay, straight, etc. “These perceptions are fueled, increasingly, in bubbles in social media and reinforce any bias you have. But there’s no better way to take these on, to actually meet someone (than when you are) at a global university like Duke,” he says.
Watch on Duke Today
Trump’s SEC Pick, a Lawyer for Goldman, To Face Skepticism
Law professor James Cox, a close Securities and Exchange Commission-watcher, takes a somewhat positive view of President Trump’s selection of Jay Clayton to lead the SEC. “This may be a good time for that kind of person,” Cox says, suggesting that Clayton is likely to steer the SEC back to its more fundamental responsibilities instead of its more recent task of writing rules under the Dodd-Frank law.
Read More at ABC/The Associated Press
A Budget for the People?
“The core purpose of federal taxing and spending is to provide the American people with the government services and public goods they need, want, and deserve. The new administration’s budget, if we can even call it that, does nothing of the sort,” writes Mark Paul, an economist and postdoctoral associated at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity.
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Trump’s War On Terror Similar To Obama’s
“President Donald Trump’s approach to combating terrorism looks a lot like President Barack Obama’s. It is heavy on the use of special operations raids and American airpower, but it relies primarily on indigenous forces to provide the bulk of the ground forces. To be sure, it is not a carbon copy. It is more open to risk,” writes political scientist Peter Feaver.
Read More in Foreign Policy
Gorsuch Hearings: Should Agencies – Or Courts – Decide the Law?
“Executive power issues are the most important that the (Supreme) Court will face in the next decade,” says law professor Ernest Young. “The executive must abide by statutory limits set by Congress, but if the executive gets to define those limits (and courts have to defer to its definitions) then those limits are a lot less meaningful.”
Read More in The Christian Science Monitor
Language and Cultural Studies Contribute to National Security — Really
“As the Trump administration promotes its recommendations for upgrading the U.S. military, it is essential that Congress and the executive branch not sacrifice other programs which contribute to our national security. For example, language and culture programs administered by the Department of Education, known as Title VI centers, are among the most important, cost-effective and vulnerable in the current political environment,” writes Patrick Duddy, a former ambassador to Venezuela now director of Duke University’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
