The Solicitor from Heaven

Selecting Influence? the Solicitor General

Scholars have devoted a great deal of research to investigating the role and influence of the U.S. Solicitor General (SG) as amicus curiae in the Supreme Court. Yet, we know little about the SG’s decision to file an amicus brief and how this relates to the SG’s success on the merits. We fill this void by examining legal, political, and administrative factors that affect the SG’s decision to par...

From pigsties to hog heaven?

In the continuing transformation of U.S. agriculture, North Carolina finds itself on the front edge of change. Between 1989 and 1998, the number of hogs in the state's pork industry quintupled---and so has the amount of hog waste that must be disposed of. Now the state has engaged private and public resources in a rapid search for better ways for handling hog waste. A technology review panel ha...

HEAVEN: The Frankenstein effect

The HEAVEN head transplant initiative needs human data concerning the acute restoration of motor transmission after application of fusogens to the severed cord in man. Data from two centuries ago prove that a fresh cadaver, after hanging or decapitation, can be mobilized by electrical stimulation for up to 3 hours. By administering spinal cord stimulation by applied paddles to the cord or trans...

The Effects of Solicitor Appearance on Charitable Contributions .

Sex in heaven

In a previous commentary, I offered my personal view as to the recipient-as-reproductive-being issue. I quote: “The fact that the gonads belong to the body donor is actually a facilitator for the whole enterprise. Imagine the parents of the brain dead body donor – racked by sorrow and despair for their loss – who are told that, once the new being will start reproducing, his or her offspring wil...