A fascinating article op-ed on Montana updating it's state constitution to protect the environment.
Under this theory, per legal historian Kermit Hall, “The U.S. Supreme Court, interpreting the Bill of Rights, sets the minimum floor for rights, while state supreme courts, interpreting their state bill of rights, fix the ceiling.” That’s precisely what the Montana First Judicial District Court did — it looked to the state’s bill of rights, which mandates that “the state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations,” and interpreted that right to afford Montanans protection against the state legislature’s attempt to prevent environmental agencies from considering greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts when making certain regulatory decisions.
Since my dad was the Chief Deputy Attorney General of Minnesota for a year - and buddies with a Federal appeals court justice - I find the above analysis fascinating. Wouldn't that require the revocation of charters of corporations causing undue harm to the environment? Yet Montana is largely considered a "national sacrifice zone"
Southeastern Montana has historically been referenced in energy and environmental policy discussions as a "national sacrifice area" or sacrifice zone due to intensive federal and private push for coal extraction, strip-mining, and power generation
So when I look up Professor Ken Frazier I find he is a big part of the "Abundance Institute" promoting Nukes and AI!! Then he is a member of the Federalist Society - a pro-corporate fascist Agenda 2025 political movement. AI says:
Critics argue that despite its non-lobbying status, the Federalist Society functions as an elite gatekeeper and pipeline for conservative judicial appointments, successfully helping shape a multi-decade conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous lower federal courts. [1, 2, 3]
Pro-Corporate and Deregulatory Outcomes: Opponents frequently point out that the jurisprudence promoted by its network has consistently favored corporate deregulation, weakened labor and environmental protections, and expanded executive and corporate power, leading critics to label its agenda pro-corporate. [1, 2] Connection to Authoritarianism and Project 2025: While Project 2025 was principally authored and directed by the Heritage Foundation rather than the Federalist Society itself, both organizations share overlapping networks of conservative legal strategists. Critics argue that the legal theories championed by the society—such as an expansive view of the unitary executive theory—provide the intellectual and judicial groundwork for plans to reclassify civil servants and centralize unchecked power in the executive branch
I rest my case.
https://abundance.institute/about#kevin-frazier
Senior Fellow for AI PolicyKevin Frazier
Professor Kevin Frazier is a Senior Fellow at the Abundance Institute, focusing on the nexus of regulatory design, innovation policy, and constitutional law. The most important issue he is working on is identifying outdated legal frameworks and assumptions that impede the American Dream in the Age of AI.
Frazier currently leads the AI Innovation and Law Program at the University of Texas School of Law. He has testified before Congress on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to undersea cables. Frazier regularly advises state and federal policymakers on how to accelerate adoption of emerging technologies.
No comments:
Post a Comment