The Illinois Law Review has publiushed an on-line symposium on Trump's first 100 days. The distinguished and numerous contributors survey the Trump administration's approach from civil rights to environmental law and federalism and a lot in between. You can read it here. Two quick observations -- first, this is exciting not just for the content, but also because it shows that law reviews can respond quickly to current events.
And second, while this is a little outside the law area, which is the focus of the Illinois Law Review symposium, I have been very interested in Trump's vision/understanding of American history. I know there's been some commentary already on his view that in our nation's history we've done some bad stuff. ("You think our country is so innocent?") But the historian in me wants to hear more about what that vision suggests about how Trump views our nation's mission and our moral obligations to our citizens. The left-wing historians who emphasize how far our nation has fallen in some cases from the promise of equal treatment -- and are frequently criticized for their writing -- usually have that interpretation as part of an agenda for better treatment. Obviously Trump is more interested in the future than the past; perhaps the emphasis on past injustice by the US is just a way of releasing constraints on future behavior. If I can free up some time this summer, I hope to write a little about this.
Meanwhile, congratulations to the Illinois Law Review on fast and engaged scholarship!
I am no Trump supporter, but I liked his response on North Korea. It was brilliant. "I don't know what I'm gonna do..." What he should do is a low fly over North Korea aboard Air Force One, open the back door and take a leak... That would be a hoot. If he did that and posted it to Twitter or You Tube, I would wear one of his red hats for the next year... I'll bet he's thinking about it.....
Posted by: Deep State Special Legal Counsel | April 29, 2017 at 09:34 PM