AI Doom Is Misguided, Not a Psyop
The pro-AI side must avoid succumbing to paranoia and bad faith.
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Politicians See Opportunity in Data Center Panic
The panic is pretty silly, since these facilities are necessary to power industries that power our economy and fund state budgets.
How the War on Terror Turned 9/11 Into a Permanently Open Wound
The government ensured that there would be no end to the public's fears—and no real justice for bin Laden's victims.
Review: An Alternate History of Soviet Space Exploration
Star City considers a world where KGB paranoia dictates space development.
Americans Have Learned Virtually No Lessons From 9/11
We still believe in the false promise of trading freedom for safety.
The GOP Midterm Convention Is the Campiest Apocalypse I've Ever Seen
Inside the first event of its kind, where the end of the world is coming, but the sequins are fabulous.
Trump's Bribe, AI Doom Psyop, and the Rapture
Trump's $5,000 bribe, stay-at-home moms, car insurance beefs, AI doom, 9/11 memories, Zelda rumors, rom-coms, and the Rapture—Freed Up somehow fits it all into one episode.
A 50% Tariff on Pencil Parts? Welcome to the U.S.-Canada Trade War.
Canada's retaliatory tariffs include the little metal band that holds an eraser onto a pencil.
Trump and Vance's Plan To Bribe Voters With $5,000 Checks Shows MAGA Is Out of Ideas
By quickly endorsing Trump's ridiculous plan to bribe voters in the midterms, J.D. Vance reveals something about the future of Trumpism. There isn't one.
I Went Looking for a Libertarian Miracle in Argentina. I Found Something Messier.
After a week in Buenos Aires, I found Milei’s economic revolution is real—and deeply divisive.
Critics of AR-15 Bans Urge SCOTUS To Reject the 7th Circuit's Distinction Between Civilian and Military Arms
Given the Second Amendment's history, several briefs argue, a gun's suitability for militia service suggests Americans have a right to possess it.
There's No Market Failure in Choosing to Stay Home. So Why Subsidize It?
J.D. Vance would like to give money to people for choices they're already making—without a workable plan to actually pay for it.
How Charlie Kirk's Murder Chilled Speech at Utah Valley University
One year after Kirk was assassinated on campus, Utah Valley students fear expressing themselves.
Some Bribes, as a Treat
Plus: Data center backlash, Anthropic job-loss predictions, and more...
Court Packing Is a Bad Idea. But It's Still Constitutional.
Unwise policies are not always unlawful policies.
Can a New Weight Loss Treatment Escape the Legal and Regulatory Thicket?
It’s Eli Lilly vs. RFK Jr. in a battle over the rules around retatrutide.
Brickbats: October 2026
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world
The Feds Are Spying on Your Bank Account
While the Treasury forces money changers to report on suspected immigrants, Homeland Security is having police pull people over for suspicious transactions.
The Trump Administration's Long, Fruitless Hunt for Voter Fraud Comes to Rhode Island
The Justice Department’s election integrity tour has turned up nothing, while ignoring the threats to elections that voters actually fear.
Urging SCOTUS To Reject AR-15 Bans, the Trump Administration Explains Why They Are Unconstitutional
The case hinges on the distinction between "unusual" weapons and arms in common use for lawful purposes.
Michigan Judge Can Be Sued for Livestreaming a Mock Hearing of Teen Who Fell Asleep on a Field Trip
The Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled that judicial immunity did not cover Kenneth King's "scared straight" approach to a sleepy 15-year-old.
Appeals Court Grants Immunity to Texas Cops Who Held Handcuffed Woman Face Down in a Fire Ant Hill
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Taylor Rogers didn't show that it was clearly established that it was excessive force to be held down on a pile of fire ants while handcuffed.
Trump Bans Canadian Beer, Wine, Motorcycles, and More
The ban was accompanied by a new set of tariffs targeting Canadian motorboats, cheese, and other products in the latest expansion of an absurd trade war.
I Celebrate Labor—Just Not Organized Labor
Unions do protect the jobs of existing workers and sometimes get them raises. But that protection kills jobs later.
Trump's War in Iran Has Cost Americans Over $101 Billion at the Pump
Gasoline is up nearly 30 percent, and diesel prices are at a record high since the war began.
Kyrsten Sinema Headed to Home-Wrecker Court After Judge Says Texts to Married Lover Could Leave Her Liable
"Alienation of affection" actions like the one Sinema is facing undermine the idea that adults have agency in their romantic and sexual choices.
Why So Many Men Feel Lost
Jon Ronson discusses why old social structures are breaking down, the rise of online identity, and what happens when people lose a sense of meaning.
Why Conservative Republicans Are Worried About License Plate Cameras
Recent comments by Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis reflect a bipartisan backlash against warrantless surveillance.
Why Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students
Plus: J.D. Vance wants to pay stay-at-home parents, what America got wrong after 9/11, and whether FDA cuts are putting food safety at risk
A SCOTUS Petition Argues That the Second Amendment Requires Carry-Permit Reciprocity
Meanwhile, the top court of Massachusetts considers whether the state can deny carry permits to applicants who are deemed "unsuitable."
The Silver Lining to Empty Subsidized Apartments
Plus: A nightmare squatting situation in Washington, D.C.
Animal Advocates Say a Florida Sheriff's Office Blocked Them Online. Free Speech Lawyers Are Fighting Back.
The free speech organization, FIRE, says the Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s bans on its social media pages violate the First Amendment.
Trump Is Weaponizing the Department of Education After Pledging To Kill It
Instead of abolishing the department, the president increased its budget. It's now pursuing investigations against school districts for seemingly political reasons.
Referees Have Nothing To Hide. The NFL and NCAA Should Show Every Big Replay Review Live on TV.
Plus: The NBA’s punishments to Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers are great, but not quite enough; and an ode to the friendships connected by fantasy football
Why America's Prisons Keep Failing
C.J. Ciaramella discusses 250 years of prison reform, the crisis facing state prisons, and whether America can build a more humane system.
Retaliation
Plus: Capitalism blaming, desalination innovation, Houthis fire on Saudi Arabia, and more...
Can Ohio Tolerate Ramaswamy's Religious Toleration?
In November, we will learn whether Buckeye Republicans have been sufficiently persuaded by a more tolerant vision of the fusion of faith and freedom.
The American Prison Experiment: A 250-Year History of Good Intentions and Bad Results
A strange trip through the U.S. prison system's never-ending cycle of failure and reform
Professor Investigated for Mocking a University 'Land Acknowledgment' Gets a $600,000 Settlement
The agreement follows a 9th Circuit ruling that the University of Washington violated Stuart Reges' First Amendment rights by treating his dissent as intolerable "disruption."
