Thursday Open Thread
What's on your mind?
Month: October 2024
"We Need Not Apply Newton's First Law of Motion to Legal Precedent"
"[E]rroneous precedent once in motion need not stay in motion."
Three-Year Bachelor's Degrees Could Become the Standard—If Accreditors Allow It
Rising tuition costs have made three-year degree programs an enticing option for cost-stressed students.
Compendium of Writings About the 2024 Election and Issues at Stake [Updated]
Links to all my writings on these topics.
The Open Fields Doctrine and the Text of the Fourth Amendment
What is a "house"?
The Story About THC-Laced Halloween Candy Shifts From Malevolent Strangers to Careless Parents
The change in official warnings and news coverage reflects the dearth of evidence that malicious pranksters are trying to dose trick-or-treaters.
Newspaper Endorsements Die in Daylight
More than presidential politics or #AnticipatoryObedience, economics is to blame (or thank) for the long, slow death of a publishing anachronism.
Countries With Economic Freedom Are Far Better Off
Even the poorest citizens of free countries fare better than the middle classes in economically repressive nations.
Dave Smith, David Stockman, and Jacob Grier: Who Is The Lesser Evil?
Dave Smith is for Trump. Jacob Grier is for Harris. David Stockman says we're screwed either way.
Halloween Is a Middle Finger to Communists
China's crackdown on costumes is a reminder that the holiday is about freedom.
A Week of Failing To Pay With Bitcoin in El Salvador
The country claims to be a leader in crypto transactions. But you can't force people to take a currency they don't want.
Weed Shops Deserve Due Process, Says Judge
Plus: Andrew Cuomo's potential prosecution, Texas death blamed on abortion ban, and more...
Journal of Free Speech Law: My "The Future of Government Pressure on Social Media Platforms"
A new article from the Daedalus (Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences) Future of Free Speech Symposium.
After 100 Years, End the Open Fields Doctrine
Federal agents are allowed to search private property without a warrant under this Prohibition-era Supreme Court precedent.
Partisanship Determines What Americans Believe About Crime
Americans' ignorant or capricious views on crime rates may seem inconsequential, but they have very real effects in setting prosecutorial policy.
To Get Through the Election, Use Ozempic
You might as well lose some weight while you’re losing your mind.
Voters in 5 States Will Decide Whether To Legalize Marijuana or Psychedelics Next Week
The ballot initiatives would allow recreational marijuana use in Florida and the Dakotas, authorize medical marijuana in Nebraska, and decriminalize five natural psychedelics in Massachusetts.
Bannon's Prison Sentence Is Over and He Has Nothing New To Say
Recently released and unrepentant, Steve Bannon returns one week before Election Day with his same old talking points.
On Punishing Speech vs. Punishing Conduct
A university president provides a helpful explanation of the difference.
Musa al-Gharbi: How Woke Elites Became Out of Touch
The Stony Brook sociologist discusses how progressives are having a hard time processing why more and more black and Latino voters are supporting Donald Trump.
The Twentieth Anniversary of the Crime Victims' Rights Act
Twenty years ago to the day, the CVRA took effect ... changing the legal culture in federal criminal cases.
Feds Admit Fossil Fuels Are Still the Cheapest
A Department of Energy analysis found natural gas is the cheapest residential energy source on the market.
Activists Profiting Off Panic Are Wrong. The World Is Getting Better.
But if they admitted that, they would be out of a job.
Pentagon Paid Nearly 8,000 Percent Markup on Boeing's Bathroom Soap Dispenser
The Air Force paid nearly $150,000 above market value for airplane bathroom fixtures, a Department of Defense watchdog found.
Exempting Favored Industries is the Wrong Way to Fix NEPA
The Building Chips in America Act shields CHIPS-subsidized firms from the National Environmental Policy Act.
'Let Parents Decide' What Kids Can Do Online, Argue Tech Groups in New Lawsuit
The groups are challenging a Florida law that bans some teens from social media.
How the Feds Destroyed Backpage.com and Its Founders
By prosecuting the website's founders, the government chilled free speech online and ruined lives.
Presidential Punctuation
Plus: Kamala Harris' closing argument, the FTC's harassment of Musk-owned Twitter, and more
When Prosecutors "Take a Dive" — The Purported "Error" in the Glossip Case
My op-ed in The Hill discusses the problem of prosecutors confessing "error" where none exists.
Why Has the D.C. Circuit Made It More Difficult to Find Opinions?
A recent website "upgrade" is not an improvement.
Book Review (by Prof. Jacob Mchangama): "Fearless Speech" Doesn't Take First Amendment History Seriously
A review of Prof. Mary Anne Franks' new book, Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment (plus a response by Prof. Franks to Prof. Mchangama's Tweeted criticisms, and a reply by Prof. Mchangama).
German Homeschooling Refugees Can Stay in U.S. for Another Year
America remains a refuge for people seeking education freedom.
Trump Is Not Thoughtful Enough To Be a Fascist
The Republican presidential candidate’s views do not reflect any unifying principle other than self-interest.
The Best of Reason: Secession Is Back in Style in Texas
Can't Americans all just get along? Maybe we can't—and perhaps we shouldn't have to.
Supreme Court Refuses to Remove RFK Jr. from Wisconsin and Michigan Ballots
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was running for President, but now he isn't and he does not want to be on the ballot in states where that might hurt Trump.
Journal of Free Speech Law: "The Free Speech Clause as a Deregulatory Tool," by Alexander Tsesis
A new article from the Daedalus (Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences) Future of Free Speech Symposium.
Elon Musk's Story Highlights Harm Caused by Immigration Restrictions
Immigration restrictions nearly prevented Musk from making his major contributions to economic innovation, and they do block all too many other potentially great innovators.
Two Sentences I Never Thought I'd Write
How to pick your poison.
Texas Public University Restrictions on Anti-Israel Speech Likely Violate First Amendment
So holds a federal court (correctly, I think), considering restrictions that were prompted by Texas Governor Abbott's General Order GA-44.
What the Past Can Teach Us About Our AI Fears
Regulating AI could threaten free speech, just as earlier proposed regulations of other media once did.
The Year's Most Important Housing Vote
Proposition 33 would repeal all of California's state-level limits on rent control. It's passage could prove to be a disaster for housing supply in the Golden State.
