Thursday Open Thread
What's on your mind?
Month: September 2021
Richard Blumenthal Pressures Facebook To End Finsta, Has No Idea What That Is
"We don't actually do finsta," Antigone Davis, Facebook's head of security, explained.
Judge David Stras Was Protested At Duke Law School
A student interrupted Judge Stras in the middle of his presentation about his grandparents' experience in the Holocaust.
House Votes to Apply Mandatory Draft Registration to Women
A better way to end sex discrimination would be to simply abolish it for everyone.
If Democrats Truly Wanted To Level the Playing Field, They'd End Crony Corporate Handouts
They give an edge to big companies that have no problems accessing capital and whose executives are often well-connected with politicians.
Joe Manchin Is Forcing Congress To Think About the Deficit. Good.
Among Americans who aren't liberal pundits, the debt and deficit rank as major concerns. It's about time Congress noticed.
Marijuana Arrests Plunged Last Year, Reflecting the Impact of Legalization
The 36 percent drop may also be partly due to pandemic-related restrictions that drove cannabis consumers indoors.
'Equity,' 'Multiculturalism,' and 'Racial Prejudice' Among Concepts That Could Be Banned in Schools by Wisconsin Bill
A bill touted as banning "critical race theory" in schools would actually ban a huge array of speech around culture, race, and sex, its sponsor says.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage Might Be the Worst Movie of the Year
It's a crude, ugly derivative of a crude, ugly film.
Until the Very End, the Generals Wanted Biden to Leave 2,500 Troops in Afghanistan
That would have been a huge mistake.
Supreme Court Denies Leave To File Amicus Brief in Hemphill v. New York
The government opposed the brief, which was filed by Hemphill's prosecutor.
Abortion Ban Stimulates Interstate Travel, Says Texas
Plus: Government shutdown, demographic diversity in rural America, and more...
The Inaugural Episode of "A Seat at the Sitting" - The Supreme Court's October Sitting in 90 Minutes or Less
A quick overview of all those other cases the Supreme Court will consider
A Good Day for the Fourth Amendment
"We are not eager—more the reverse—to print a new permission slip for entering the home without a warrant," declared Justice Kagan in Lange v. California.
Making Sense of Justice Sotomayor's Comments on S.B. 8
Did she cross the line?
Karla Vermeulen: Inside the Mind of 'Generation Disaster'
Young people who came of age after 9/11 aren't snowflakes despite being exposed to a series of catastrophic events and apocalyptic news narratives.
Vaccine Mandates Coming for K-12 Students
San Diego becomes latest school district to require teen jabs. But is it good policy?
Draft of Proposed Amicus Brief in Anti-Libel Injunction / Society for Creative Anachronism Case
Should I file it in a Gothic font?
Georgia Tax Crimes Unit Illegally Spent Asset Forfeiture Funds on Trinkets and Swag
A state watchdog concluded an office in the Georgia Department of Tax Revenue illegally kept $5 million in forfeiture funds and spent it partially on swag like sunglasses and engraved guns
FTC Drills Alabama Licensing Board for Anti-Competitive Scheme Targeting Teledentistry
The FTC challenged a licensing scheme that it says limited consumer choice and excluded new providers.
The First Amendment and Restrictions on "Off-Site" Signs
Here’s an amicus brief our UCLA First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic just filed, on behalf of the Cato Institute.
Seattle City Council Passes Rent Control by Another Name. Is It Legal?
New bills passed earlier this week require landlords to give tenants 180 days' notice before raising rents and pay relocation expenses to low-income tenants who move in response to rent hikes.
CNN Shuts Down Access to Facebook Pages in Australia After Court Ruling Holding Media Outlets Liable for Commenters
This is where government demands to moderate what users say will ultimately lead.
Democrats Are Denying Basic Economics
Under Biden, Democrats have decided that their agenda has no costs and no tradeoffs.
Report: Facebook, Twitter Still Not Responsible for Radicalizing People
Political polarization drives social media use, rather than the other way around.
People Have Been Panicking About New Media Since Before the Printing Press
Politicians and activists claim social media is turning us into zombies. But new technologies have been greeted with skepticism since the dawn of time.
J.D. Vance Says Government Should Seize Assets of Political Nonprofits
Plus: Fusionism, OnlyFans, and more...
Biden's Inflation Scapegoat Is 'Profiteering'
Profligate government spending supposedly has nothing to do with it.
The Texas Social Media Law Is Blatantly Unconstitutional
Government restrictions on private editorial discretion violate the First Amendment.
New York Firing Health Care Workers as COVID-19 Heads Northeast
The vaccine mandate on health care workers, ahead of the broader mandate on the rest of us, is putting America in uncharted territory.
Cops Get Qualified Immunity After Jailing Florida Man for 'I Eat Ass' Bumper Sticker
Dillon Shane Webb will thus not be able to sue for the alleged violation of his free speech rights.
Parents Are Filling the Political Vacuum for Charter School Support
Charter enrollment grew by 7 percent last school year, double the prior year.
Everybody Is Wrong About Big Tech
Robby Soave doesn't like it when social media deplatforms users, but the far bigger threat comes from lawmakers on a mission.
House Passes EQUAL Act to Erase Sentencing Disparity Between Crack and Powder Cocaine
The Senate now has the chance to finally end one of the most disastrous legacies of the drug war.
Upcoming Speaking Engagements - Ilya Somin [Updated and Reposted]
My upcoming speaking engagements through the end of the year. Most are free and open to the public, and in-person!
Dems' Plan To 'Tax the Rich' Might Include a Huge Tax Break for the Rich
Repealing the cap on the SALT deduction would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest households in America.
ACLU Issues Weak Apology for Erasing 'Women' From RBG Abortion Quote
"It was a mistake among the digital team," says executive director Anthony Romero.
ACLU Apologizes for Bowdlerizing Ruth Bader Ginsburg Quote
A misguided effort to update a Notorious RBG quote backfired.
Federal Judges Failed to Recuse in Hundreds of Cases
A Wall Street Journal report shows that federal judges do not always recuse when cases implicate their financial holdings.
