The Government Won't Shut Down
Shutdowns don't meaningfully reduce the size or cost of government, but they also aren't the end of the world.
Month: September 2023
Sixth Circuit Reverses Preliminary Injunctions Against TN & KY Laws Restricting Gender Dysphoria Treatments for Minors (Updated)
After a divided ruling, laws limiting such treatments in Tennessee and Kentucky will go into force.
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
Fall 2023 lectures and panels on various subjects, but mostly climate change policy.
Despite Debunking, Rainbow Fentanyl Myths Continue
Just as there are adult reasons for vape companies to sell flavored vape pods, there are adult reasons for drug dealers to color their fentanyl.
Brickbats: October 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Supreme Court Will Hear Case on Whether there is a "Legislative" Exception to the Takings Clause
The case will consider whether the government is exempt from takings liability for imposing exactions as a condition of development rights in situations where the exaction is imposed by legislation. Unlike many Supreme Court cases, this one can be resolved very easily by applying a basic principle of constitutional law.
At California GOP Convention, Donald Trump Promises To 'Liberate' Communist California
With a second term, the former president promised to end California's water shortage, clear homeless encampments, and conduct the biggest deportation operation in American history.
Supreme Court Will Consider Cases Challenging Florida and Texas Social Media Laws
The laws require major social media platforms to host content they disapprove of for substantive reasons.
Josh Barro: A Republican Presidential Debate Detached From Reality
"The orange elephant in the room just never seems to be addressed head on," says Reason's Zach Weissmueller.
Supreme Court Will Review Fifth Circuit Ruling that Creates a Catch-22 for Takings Claims Against State Governments
The badly flawed lower court ruling defies the Supreme Court's landmark 2019 decision forbidding such Catch-22 traps, and threatens the property rights of large numbers of people.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Wedding officiants, teaser profiles, and administrative animals.
On Guns, Drugs, and National Security, Dianne Feinstein Was Consistently Authoritarian
The late California senator always seemed to err on the side of more government power and less individual freedom.
The Creator Is a Pro-A.I., Pro-Freedom, Anti-Imperialist Sci-Fi War Movie
Conceptually, it's all a bit vague, but it sure looks amazing.
Sales Data Indicate That Restrictions on Flavored Vaping Products Encourage Smoking
A study found a "high rate of substitution" between vapes and cigarettes, suggesting that policies aimed at preventing underage use are undermining public health.
The Truth About Ron DeSantis' Fentanyl Horror Story
The culprit is prohibition, not lax border policing.
Gasoline Engines and Sex Changes for Kids
Plus: Minimum wage laws, space exploration, that time when North Africa was less dysfunctional than California, and more...
Government Employee / Political Candidate's Advertising Gun Raffle for Election Campaign May Be Protected by the First Amendment
"Defendants' argument, which attempts to draw an ill-defined connection between a lawful gun raffle hosted on social media, and obviously tragic and unlawful mass shootings at schools, remains predicated upon numerous, dubious inferences ...—if not upon rank speculation."
Punishment Is Not the Point: Puzzle #9
"Gavin Newsom eating at French Laundry during a COVID-19 surge, for example"
When the MAGA Movement Sounds Like Bernie Sanders
We already have a party that's committed to progressive ideals, do we really need another?
Target Shuts Stores as Criminal Justice Reform Gets Mugged
We need less intrusive law enforcement, not the treatment of crime as a lark.
Review: Silo Shows the Perils of Authoritarian Hierarchies
Leaders depicted in the Apple TV+ series outlaw "relics" of the past, even including PEZ dispensers.
Review: Shiny Happy People Charts the Downfall of the Duggar Family
The Amazon miniseries examines the Institute in Basic Life Principles, focusing on the Duggar family and its multiple sex abuse scandals.
How Bans on Flavored Vapes Could Increase Teen Smoking
Well-intentioned restricitons on selling vaping products with non-tobacco flavors could have dire unintended consequences.
FCC Revives Common Carriage for the Internet
After five years without net neutrality rules, the fix for a problem that doesn’t exist is back.
At Ronald Reagan Library, GOP Candidates Reject Ronald Reagan's Immigration Vision
“I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally,” Reagan said in 1984.
No, Mike Pence, We Should Not Make It Easier To Execute Mass Shooters
Pence suggested executing mass shooters in "months, not years," but that would remove crucial procedural protections—and not just for those who are obviously guilty.
Banning Criminal Background Checks Will Lead To More Housing Discrimination, Not Less
The best reforms would correct the real problems of overcriminalization and overincarceration, as well as removing all artificial barriers to building more homes.
"Odd," "Unnerv[ing]," "Disturbing," Comments, Post, and Letter to Politician Weren't "True Threats"
"[E]ccentricity and being off-putting is not a criminal offense," even when the speaker mentions the listener's children and other personal details.
Ban Teenagers From Social Media, Vivek Ramaswamy Says, Because Fentanyl
The Republican presidential candidate ignores the lethal impact of the drug policies he avidly supports.
Shut Up Already About John Fetterman's Slob Chic
The Senate is an incompetent laughingstock regardless of what its members wear.
Discovery of Comparator Incidents Available in Title IX Wrongful-Discipline Cases
A good illustration of how this principle can work.
Companies Seeking CHIPS Act Subsidies Are Encouraged To Double-Dip
At least a dozen states have beefed up targeted incentives to coincide with handouts from the Commerce Department.
Mike Pence Claims the Reagan Mantle. So Far, It Isn't Helping Him.
"Our party does face a time for choosing," said the former vice president last night.
Sleeping With a Member of the Teachers Union
Plus: "Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber," nuclear-powered AI, North Korea, and more...
Florida Is Giving Foster Children Powerful Psychotropic Drugs Without Proper Records, Audit Finds
More than 1 in 3 Florida foster kids over 13 is taking psychotropic medications, but the state often doesn't follow rules requiring it to keep records of prescriptions.
Taylor Swift, Junk Fees, and the 'Happy Meal Fallacy'
Thank Swifties, not Joe Biden, for Ticketmaster's consumer-friendly pricing policy.
