Month: February 2026
The Supreme Court Is Poised To Remind States That the Constitution Doesn't Stop at the Liquor Store
Lower courts keep inventing loopholes to uphold discriminatory booze regulations.
Open Thread
What’s on your mind?
Fourth Circuit Rejects Facial Challenge to Two Trump Anti-DEI Executive Orders
"What plaintiffs are really asking us to do is read subtext into the Provision's text."
Epstein Files, Keeping Helen of Troy Hot, and Stolen Land
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss the outrages of the week, including Jeffrey Epstein, Billie Eilish, and DoorDash.
Most Americans Hate Trump's Tariffs
A new poll finds that even white men without college degrees, a key voting constituency for Trump, don’t approve of the president’s handling of the economy.
The Trump Administration Is Taking Credit for a Long-Running Murder Decline
2025 is on track to have the largest drop in the murder rate in recorded history.
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
Arkansas tooth picks, selective schools, and inconsistent travel plans.
American Presidents Shouldn't Endorse Foreign Political Candidates
Trump's endorsements of Viktor Orbán and Sanae Takaichi, like Clinton's support for Boris Yeltsin or Obama's opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu, do not make America great.
Once Again, a Federal Judge Orders ICE To Stop Unlawful Warrantless Arrests
Another judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to follow federal law, even as the Trump administration argues it has broad authority to conduct warrantless immigration arrests.
Judge Orders Video and Texts Unsealed in Case of Chicago Woman Shot 5 Times by Border Patrol
The Department of Homeland Security won't stop calling Marimar Martinez a "domestic terrorist," so she's getting the video of her shooting and text messages from the officer who shot her unsealed.
Judge Lets Blade Runner 2049 Copyright Suit Against Elon Musk and Tesla Move Forward
The ruling makes it less likely for copyright suits involving generative AI to be dismissed, discouraging use of the technology with the specter of costly legal fees.
Do Republicans Want To Control Elections?
Plus: assessing Trump’s first year, the dysfunction of Washington, D.C., and the politics of the Super Bowl. (Recorded live in Washington, D.C.)
Lawyer's Repeated Filings with AI Hallucinations Lead to Default Judgment Against Client
Presumably the client's potential remedy now would be a malpractice lawsuit against the lawyer.
Department of Homeland Security
ICE Funding Freeze
Plus: detention center NIMBYism and why you shouldn't walk on the semifrozen Potomac river.
Militarized Policing Is at the Root of the Minneapolis Mayhem
Thanks to a lack of hiring standards, purposeful federal policy, poor training, and a lack of accountability for bad behavior, ICE is eroding safety and liberty for all Americans.
The Trump Administration Has a Conflicted Relationship with the Second Amendment
The right to bear arms is inherently anti-authoritarian at a time when Trump wields authority.
Review: South Park Is Somehow Still Good in the Age of Hyperpoliticization
"It's not that South Park suddenly quote got political. It's that politics became pop," co-creator Trey Parker said in a recent interview.
Open Thread
What’s on your mind?
Fact-Finding At The Grammy's
What is the sound of one Justice clapping?
What Is The Burden Of Proof In Judicial-Council Factfinding?
The 6th Circuit has followed the clear and convincing evidence standard since at least 1993, but the actual rule is silent on this issue.
Don Lemon May Be a Hack, but That Does Not Make Him a Felon
The federal case against the former CNN anchor hinges on conduct that can plausibly be viewed as part of a journalist's work, combined with the obvious partiality of that work.
Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan Demands Local Minnesota Jails Cooperate with ICE
Cooperation may get more ICE agents off the street, but it could make it harder for the state to enforce its laws.
So Much for Abolishing the Department of Education
The Department of Education is getting a bigger budget, less than a year after President Donald Trump ordered the department's closure.
Wealth Taxes Are Proven Failures. Will California Take Note?
Across advanced economies, they have repeatedly been narrowed or even repealed after delivering disappointing revenue, tax avoidance, capital flight, and costly administrative battles.
Louisville Is Making It Easier To Smoke Cigars Indoors
A Kentucky proposal to legalize cigar bars bucks the trend of prohibitionist tobacco policy.
How Thousands of Randos Like Me Landed in the Epstein Files
To make sense of the Justice Department’s latest documents, you have to understand what they actually are.
These Climate Change Charts Are Scary. They're Also Wrong.
The job of scientists isn't to manufacture alarm. It's to communicate the truth.
Environmentalists and MAHA Activists Say Bill To Expand Florida's 'Food Libel' Law Will Silence Critics
The bill has a wide variety of groups worried that they could be targeted for criticism of large agribusinesses.
The Epstein Files Are Becoming a Witch Hunt
"This type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt," warned Clay Higgins.
Energy Department Moves To Fast-Track Advanced Nuclear Reactor Approvals
The Trump administration excludes advanced nuclear power reactors from excessive National Environmental Policy Act requirements.
'This Job Sucks'
Plus: the partial withdrawal of federal agents from Minneapolis, shifting public opinion on immigration, and D.C.'s continued snowpocalypse.
Judicial Retirements Are Not Always What They Seem
A judge blamed Trump for his decision to leave the bench, but it also terminated a misconduct inquiry.
Mike Johnson Wants To Spare ICE the Hassle of Getting the Right Warrant Before Forcibly Entering a Home
Here's a quick reminder of what the Fourth Amendment has to say about that.
