California Distillers Get a New Year's Eve Reprieve From Ban on Shipping Booze Direct to Customers
Distillers have been granted emergency regulatory relief—for now.
Month: December 2021
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Internet trolls, militant tactics, and big dicta energy.
For Better or Worse, Television Schedules Are Recovering from COVID
Two January premieres offer a narcodrama and a tiresomely predictable medical procedural.
Colorado Gov. Polis Commutes 110-Year Sentence for Trucker in Deadly Crash, Pardons Hundreds of Marijuana Convictions
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos faced harsh punishment under the state’s mandatory minimum sentences for insisting on the right to a trial.
N.Y. Rationing COVID Drugs Based on Race
Sick non-Hispanic whites can only get oral antivirals if they have a medical condition or unspecified "other factors that increase their risk for severe illness"; sick "[n]on-white[s]" and "Hispanic[s]" don't face such a requirement.
California Is Stuck With Newsom's Nanny State Pandemic Policies
The pandemic has served as a nice reminder of the merits of federalism, where states are the laboratories of democracy that can try regulatory approaches that conform to local attitudes and conditions.
Media Appearances, Public Speaking, and Commentary from 2021
A update on my accomplishments in 2021.
Review: Licorice Pizza
Squalls of flak suddenly surround one of the year’s most loveable movies.
The History and Politics of Public Radio
James T. Bennett's libertarian critique argues that noncommercial radio can be detached from the state—and that it's better that way.
Thursday Open Thread
What's on your mind?
If Chuck Schumer Supports Marijuana Legalization, Why Did He Nix a Bill That Would Have Helped Pot Businesses Use Banks?
Stranger still, the leading drug policy reform organization supported Schumer's obstruction.
In 2022, Pay Attention to Right-Wing Authoritarianism
For decades, libertarians have focused on illiberalism coming from the political left. But authoritarianism has taken root among many conservatives across the world.
America's Huge Pile of National Debt Makes Combating Inflation More Difficult
A one percentage point increase in interest rates translates into a $30 trillion increase in interest costs on the national debt.
We Don't Know Why Murder Rates Spiked in 2020
It's bad public policy to leap to the conclusion that we do.
Should Prominent Surgeon Be Able to Pseudonymously Sue University of Michigan for Allegedly Improper Suspension?
If so, should that be because his "stellar reputation is a critical component to ensuring the public's trust for him to operate on their children for complex procedures"?
Only 3 NYPD Officers Have Been Disciplined for Misconduct During the George Floyd Protests
The NYPD declined to punish nine other officers, despite recommendations from the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board.
In 2021, Qualified Immunity Reform Died a Slow, Painful Death
Despite bipartisan momentum at the federal level, Congress still couldn't get anything over the finish line.
How Biden's Agenda Is Causing Inflation
Too Many (Government) Dollars Are Chasing Too Few Goods.
No Sealing of School Basketball Team Sexual Assault Case,
but the minors involved (including the accused students) will be pseudonymized.
Crime to Sexually Proposition, Knowing It's Likely to Annoy, Offend, or Alarm
That's the law in Delaware, it turns out.
The 10 Worst Helicopter Parenting Stories of 2021
Suffice it to say, the pandemic did not lead to great childhood independence policies.
No Security Clearance for Employee Who Had Admitted to Downloading Child Pornography
Also, "He also reported that in 2012, he had thought about amassing enough classified information to give to Russia or the Ukraine in exchange for a harem of little girls."
Good Riddance to Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe
Virginia is moving on without the Democratic duo.
2021 Was Another Disappointing Year for Immigration Policy
Joe Biden promised to do better by migrants upon taking office, but he fell short in 2021.
Is Censuring a Legislator a First Amendment Violation?
"The First Amendment was never intended to curtail speech and debate within legislative bodies."
Hungarian Nationalism Is a Dead End
Hungary's brand of nationalism generates not just cronyist domestic policy but tawdry foreign policy as well.
Poll: 90% of Chicago Public School Teachers Would Go Back to Virtual Learning
The union is preparing to strike if its demands are not met.
Why the Pandemic Will End Only When We Demand It's Over
Ronald Bailey and Jacob Sullum on the future of COVID-19, the politicization of science, the failure of mandates, and how to talk with anti-vaxxers.
Joe Biden Would Be a Better President if He Stopped Saying Things That Aren't True
And we would be better citizens if we called him out for it more.
T-Cell Immunity Likely To Prevent Severe COVID-19 from Omicron Infections
Vaccination and prior infection induce a strong second line of immunological defense, finds South African study.
California Distillers Are About To Lose the Right To Ship Booze Directly to Consumers
Breweries and wineries can still do it, though.
A New Study Finds That Smokers With No Plans To Quit Are Much More Likely To Stop Smoking If They Vape Every Day
The findings reinforce the case for nicotine vaping products as a harm-reducing alternative to cigarettes.
No Sealing or Pseudonymity for Sexual Assault Defendant
"[I]f the purported falsity of the complaint's allegations were sufficient to seal an entire case, then the law would recognize a presumption to seal instead of a presumption of openness."
Goodbye, Cuomos!
Last year may have been the year of the Cuomosexual, but 2021 rightly disabused people of the notion that New York's governor had their best interests at heart.
Goodbye and Good Riddance to Bill de Blasio, a Terrible Mayor on Every Issue He Tripped Over
The best thing you could say about Bill de Blasio was that he was good for a laugh.
No "Social Worker Exception" from the Fourth Amendment for Home Searches by Child Protection Officials
"[T]he Fourth Amendment applies equally whether the government official is a police officer conducting a criminal investigation or a caseworker conducting a civil child welfare investigation."
Facebook Said My Article Was 'False Information.' Now the Fact-Checkers Admit They Were Wrong.
While this is a problem, it's not one that scrapping Section 230 would solve.
We Said Good Riddance to the Afghan War in 2021. Unfortunately, It's Not Actually Over.
Our drones still patrol the skies, and our tax dollars will be paying off the costs of failed nation-building for decades.
