instagram and netflix. my first story, fair and balanced. during one of the fraught moments in the health care debate when it looked like novel forms of gop obstruction would kill the bill matt eglesias posted the following thought experience to showรง if you cano something according to the letter of the law doesn t mean it s acceptable. he wrote to the best of my understanding nothing is stopping rahm emanuel from murdering senators, having them replaced by democrats and getting a pardon from barack obama. his point was that norms matter. healthy governance isn t those who matter playing with a larger sense of respect for the norms of the institutions. there are certain things that just aren t done even if they might be permissible. norms are much more powerful than written explicit rules. the problem is when norms go, they go fast. we have seen it inside enron and on wall street and during the steroids era in baseball. we have seen it from the united states congress to the
the official rules that guide the supreme court are preciously few in number. a majority of justices can pretty much issue any ruling they want. constrained by the distant threat of i will peachment or a cut in funding from congress, they are the final sayn what is or isn t constitutional. that s why the norms for the court are so important and the subject of such intense and constant debate. should the court be like the house of representatives, partisan and ideological, a place where narrow majority is expected to vote more or less in lock step for the favored outcomes of the side or should judges be in the confirmation hearing? judges are like umpires. umpires don t make the rules. they apply them. it is my job to call balls and strikes and not pitch or bat. after joining the majority oh uphold the constitutionality of the affordable care act roberts is getting grief from conservatives who fell in love with the metaphor and now feel betrayed. the definition of an acti
damned by most as obamacare. john roberts, a george w. bush appointedee joined the liberal wing kagan, sottomayor. so what s it all mean mr. president? if you are one of the more than 250 million americans who already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance. insurance companies can no longer impose lifetime limits on the amount of care you receive. they can no longer discriminate against children with pre-existing conditions. they can no longer drop your coverage if you get sick. they can no longer jack up your premiums without reason. they are required to provide free preventative care like check-ups and mammograms. there is more: because of the affordable care act, young adults under the age of 26 are able to stay on their parents healthcare plans. really? is that all you got? if you are one of the 30 million americans who don t yet have health insurances starting in 2014, this law will offer you an array of quality, affordable private health insur