I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON I LIKE THE USA MORE THAN I LIKE BELGIUM:  “Prosecutors Call for an End to Jury Trials [in Serious Criminal Cases in Belgium]”

ON THIS DAY IN 1871: Arthur Wynne, the inventor of the modern crossword puzzle, was born. Yes, crossword puzzles had to be invented. They didn’t just fall from the sky.  Very little in life just drops from the sky.

ELIZABETH WARREN CONTINUES TO RISE IN POLLS:  Okay, but her medical bankruptcy study still looks a lot like a case of academic fraud.

SOMERSETT’S CASE: On this day in 1772, Lord Mansfield, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, held that chattel slavery was unsupported by the common law of England and Wales.

James Somersett had been brought to England in 1769 by customs officer Charles Stewart, who had purchased him in Boston. In 1771, Somersett escaped. Stewart recaptured and imprisoned him, intending to ship him off to the Caribbean to be sold. But anti-slavery advocates sued in court for his release.

Stewart warned of dire consequences if slavery were to be unrecognized. Mansfield responded, “Fiat justitia, ruat caelum.” (Let justice be done though the heavens fall.)

MY EMPLOYER IS RE-NAMING THINGS: The University of San Diego, whose campus is graced with beautiful Spanish architecture and mission imagery, has resolved to “better recognize the rich history of the Kumeyaay Nation.” To that end, the University President announced in an email message a while ago that “Serra Hall,” previously named for St. Junipero Serra has been re-named “Saints Tekakwitha and Serra Hall.” According to the message, this is “meant to encourage continued dialogue on the important topic of colonialization, the spread of the Catholic faith and the impact both had on Native American populations.”

Tekakwitha, however, was a 17^th century Mohawk woman who spent her life in New York and Canada. It’s unlikely Tekakwitha and her fellow Mohawks had ever heard of the Kumeyaay Nation. Moreover, it’s worth noting that the Mohawks of her era were not known for respecting the autonomy of neighboring tribes, so it’s not clear why anyone should regard this as an effort to recognize the Kumeyaay.

History is messy.

OUR CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER IS BORN: On this day in 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. With that ratification, the Constitution went into effect. Further states could join, of course, but with nine states, we were going to have a union of at least those nine no matter what.

New Hampshire, like several other states, suggested some amendments to the Constitution in its ratification message, some of which it got when the Bill of Rights was subsequently proposed and ratified and some of which it did not get. Among its proposals:

“Congress shall never disarm any citizen, unless such as are or have been in actual rebellion.”

“Congress shall erect no company of merchants with exclusive advantages of commerce.”

HONG KONG PROTESTERS’ ANTHEM IS “SING HALLELUJAH TO THE LORD”:  You can bet that won’t get much coverage in the media.  (And, yes, we know why.)

NEW REPORT BY THE U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS:  In one of its most bipartisan (but still not all that bipartisan) moments, Commission members agree that there are too many collateral consequences to felony convictions.  (For example, ex-offenders are prohibited from taking too many jobs and excluded from too many aspects of the “social safety net” in ways that may well increase recidivism).  Still, in my statement (with my fellow Commissioner Peter Kirsanow), we had to point out that our colleagues’ approach to collateral consequences was too one-sided.  Not all of such consequences are bad.

Our most important point:  The particular collateral consequence our colleagues are most upset about is the exclusion of ex-offenders from voting.  This just happens to be the least important one when it comes to getting ex-offenders jobs and stable living situations.  Yet they give it more extended treatment (and describe it in more dramatic terms) than any other aspect of the problem.  It’s a curious thing …

Full report here.

WAIT.  WHAT ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING?  DON’T THEY CAUSE THAT TOO?:  “New Research Links Affirmative Action Bans with Increased Smoking Among Minority Teens.”

SAYONARA TO GOOD SENSE:  “Campus Food Service Worker Hit with Bias Complaint After Saying ‘Hello’ to Student in Japanese.” This one is from the University of Minnesota (a state formerly famous for its “Minnesota nice”).

OF COURSE:  Professor says his course proposal on conservative thought was rejected at Portland State University because … wait for it … it wasn’t diverse.

FBI LOVEBIRDS:  UNDERCOVERS:  Had its (conservative) audience howling with laughter at its premiere at Washington’s Ronald Reagan Center.

IF EVER I BRING THIS MUCH HAPPINESS TO THE WORLD, I WILL BE SO VERY PROUD OF MYSELF:  On this day in 1903, Ruth Graves Wakefield was born.  Bless her soul:  She was the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie.

BABYLON BEE:  Not to be Outdone, Elizabeth Warren Promises to Cure Smallpox:  “‘We will fend off the smallpox attacks of the white man,’ she said while sipping ‘fire water’ in a live video posted to her social media accounts. ‘If I am elected, I will find a way to end this scourge on our people and send the white devils back across the great sea where they came from.'”

TECH DISASTER:  Massive power failure in Argentina and Uruguay.

HERE’S TO ANOTHER 80:  Today is the 80th birthday of Ward Connerly, the University of California Regent who, in 1996, chaired the successful Proposition 209 initiative. Happy Birthday, Ward!

Proposition 209’s core provision reads as follows:

The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

It is now, of course, part of the California Constitution.

This article, which was written a few years later, will give you a sense of how Proposition 209 was beneficial to minority students at the UC.

Later research (mentioned here) has found that between 1997 and 2003 Proposition 209 increased both the GPAs and the graduation rates of under-represented minority students at the UC. Plus it increased the rate at which under-represented minority students major in STEM. Not bad.

(Yes, I was one of three co-chairs of the campaign.  Yes, I’m proud of it.  Alas, since then, the UC has largely learned to get around Proposition 209.  I wish more resources had been and were being devoted its enforcement.)

WILL OBERLIN LEARN ITS LESSON?: Steven Hayward has evidence that it’s unlikely.

MAYBE RAISING MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 ISN’T SUCH A GREAT WAY TO GET PEOPLE JOBS: Even a few Democrats are worried.

Meanwhile at the Babylon Bee (yes, of course it’s satire, but it wouldn’t be funny if it weren’t fundamentally true):  “Walmart Self-Checkout Machine Wins Employee of the Month Award Again.”

CLOSE CALL:  On this day in 2002, a 73-meter asteroid came within 74,000 miles of Earth (approx. one-third the distance to the moon).

If you didn’t notice it, don’t feel bad.  Scientists didn’t see it either until three days later.

If it had hit us, it was capable of causing devastation on the scale of the Tunguska event, which destroyed about 800 square miles of forest in Siberia in 1908.

When the big one comes around–the one with Earth’s name on it–let’s be ready to spot it well ahead of time and deflect it.

BETO AND ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM: Beto O’Rourke recently argued, “Race is the No. 1 indicator for where toxic and polluting facilities are today,” and some in the media are saying he is right.  Here’s some counter-evidence:  The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights tried and failed to come up with empirical evidence that would support such a claim. Its study found that coal ash dumps are more likely to be found near whites. (Repost: Link is working better now.)

120 YEARS AGO TODAY:  They say there are 8 million stories in the Naked City.  The Ukranian-American photographer Weegee (real name:  Arthur Fellig) managed to document a lot of them in black and white.  He was born this day in 1899.

MEMO TO GEORGE SOROS AND CHARLES KOCH: FUND CAMPUS DEBATES:  My friend Richard Vedder wrote this last month, but I didn’t see it until today.  It’s not a bad idea.  A conspicuously well-funded campus debate program designed to bring real left-right engagement on campuses could be a good thing. Call it “Safe Spaces for Serious Ideas.”

BABYLON BEE SATIRE:  “Progressive Mom Proudly Declares Son to be Transgender After He Walks Through Barbie Aisle.”  (Naming the child in the story “Kale” is a nice touch.)

BACK ROW AMERICA:  Not everybody lives in Bethesda.

“RACIST, RACIST, RACIST, RACIST, RACIST, RACIST RACIST.  THAT IS ALL THIS IS”:  That’s an Alabama state representative describing legislation designed to ensure students’ free speech rights.