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Hannah Walser

@hkpmw.bsky.social

5.3K followers 2.9K following 2.9K posts

Thinking about people thinking about other people. First Amendment, interpretive methodologies, criminal law, law & philosophy. PhD (English) —> JD —> Furman Fellowship at NYU Law. Philly homer; mayor of the quiet car. she/her. hwalser.wordpress.com

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · Apr 4

“Interpretive Facts: Textualism, Empiricism, and the Law-Fact Divide” is now available on SSRN! The article will be published next spring/summer, so I have lots of time to incorporate suggestions. 😊

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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Reposted by Hannah Walser

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 5h

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2h

a mascot wearing a white shirt that says phillies on it

Alt: The Phillie Phanatic waving a rally towel

media.tenor.com

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 3h

Also. The commercials during this PLAYOFF BASEBALL game are crazy. “Monkey Magnets,” plus about 5000 morally troubling TLC shows

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 3h

WHAT is the DEAL with all this BUNTing

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 4h

🩵❤️❤️❤️❤️🩵

Jacob Soboroff @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social · 4h

Michigan Avenue right now.

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 7h

(When you look at the Court’s jurisprudence in this area as a whole, it gets even more suspect. States can second-guess a minor’s “goal” when that goal is to address gender dysphoria by transitioning. Why do they have to accept a “goal” to address gender dysphoria through “conversion therapy”?) 8/8

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 7h

To be clear, I think this is an exceptionally hard problem to solve through legislation/regulation! My point is simply that the “consent” framework is a red herring. 7/8

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 7h

Sometimes they even sincerely believe that those things are morally right. For Chiles, much seems to hinge on the voluntary/consensual nature of the therapy she provides; she helps clients reach their “goals.” But that doesn’t help us when disordered goals themselves are part of the problem. 6/8

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 7h

The reason has nothing to do with the directness of the physical harm and everything to do with the fact that medical/psych professionals should not uncritically accept certain every “goal” that their patients set. Sometimes patients—especially minors—sincerely want things that are bad for them. 5/8

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 7h

Would it be ok for a therapist to go along with this wish—to “help” the patient overcome her dependence on food by talking through the root causes of her “overeating,” encouraging her to cultivate an attitude of emotional detachment toward food, whatever? It doesn’t seem ok to me. 4/8

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 7h

Say a severely underweight teen with symptoms of anorexia comes to a therapist and says she has a problem with overeating. She wants to learn how to overcome her food cravings through talk therapy—cognitive reframing, etc. 3/8

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 7h

Petitioner says no, but distinguishes: in that case, a practitioner would be telling a patient to do something that “directly harms their body,” which is different from talk therapy that aims to curb “unwanted” same-sex attraction etc. But one can easily imagine a much closer analogy: 2/8

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 7h

Listening to yesterday’s oral argument in Chiles v. Salazar; very interested in J. Sotomayor’s hypothetical about anorexic patients. She asks: if a state wants to ban therapists from telling anorexic minors to engage in more restrictive eating, do they need a study to prove that it’s harmful? 1/8

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Reposted by Hannah Walser

Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 15h

Jim Crow is one obvious source for this, since one definition of racism is “lies you can tell about people without social cost.”

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 1d

As someone who has been thinking a lot about what “belief” means in a legal context and how/why law cares about belief, I find this framing very interesting

FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 1d

US House Speaker Johnson: Some legal analysts don't believe in shutdown backpay.

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

My beautiful Nicky babyyyy!

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

THAT’S WHAT I LIKE TO SEE

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

Listen, I’ve given up hope on us winning but can we at least light up this bigot please

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

Listen, I’ve given up hope on us winning but can we at least light up this bigot please

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

(The answer to “Does the Chimpanzee Have a Theory of Mind?” is plausibly “yes”; the answer re Trump still leans no)

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

This is of course utterly divorced from reality—but in my ongoing ”does Trump have a theory of mind” investigation, his speculation about state politicians’ motives is a fascinating data point

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 3d

Trump: Portland is burning to the ground—insurrectionists all over the place. The politicians are afraid for their lives. That’s the only reason they say there’s nothing happening.

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

When Bryce Harper is frustrated he looks like he’s about to go pillage a small Scandinavian town

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

This is a fact

Tim Carmody @tcarmody.bsky.social · 2d

Look if Philadelphians don’t boo a great opposing player it just means they have completely lost all respect for him. It’s a courtesy

Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 2d

Philly booing Ohtani cmon man. He's not a Dodger he's our national baseball Folk Hero. He is for everyone. He loves dogs and hits balls 500 ft and throws the ball 100 mph.

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

I was out walking my dogs and futzing around on my phone when a bird pooped right on the screen. I will not be learning any lessons from this

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Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

It’s a little embarrassing how much what’s going on in my sinuses affects my brain

Hannah Walser @hkpmw.bsky.social · 2d

My body seems to be rebelling against [gestures widely]