Guns and Control
San Francisco writer Guy Smith finds little evidence that the availability of firearms explains differences in suicide and homicide rates.
Culture
Twitter Blocking a New York Post Article Was Dumb—but Not Illegal, Censorship, or Election Interference
Plus: 898,000 new jobless claims, and more...
San Francisco Will Pay Artists $1,000 a Month in Universal Basic Income
The pilot program intended to assist the city's arts community during the pandemic is drawing both interest and criticism from proponents of unconditional cash transfers.
The Long, Dark History of Family Separations
How politicians used the drug war and the welfare state to break up black and Native American families
New York Times Union Hits Times Columnist Bret Stephens for Daring To Criticize the 1619 Project
"It says a lot about an organization when it breaks it's [sic] own rules and goes after one of it's [sic] own," the union tweeted. "The act, like the article, reeks."
Federal Court Accepts Church's Challenge to D.C.'s 100-Person Limit on Outdoor Religious Services
The court applied the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was enacted in 1993 by a nearly unanimous Congress.
Which is it? 1619 or 1776?
Bret Stephens, in what may be his last NYT column, tracks the foundational rewriting of the 1619 Project.
Berkeley Bans So-Called Junk Food from Checkout Aisles
These kinds of interventions don't work, but they do force retailers to waste money.
Couple Barred from Fostering Their 1-Year-Old Great-Granddaughter Because of They Oppose Homosexuality and Gender Transitioning
The Washington Department of Child, Youth, and Families reached this decision based on the purely hypothetical possibility that maybe the 1-year-old might eventually be attracted to girls, or might want to transition to being a boy; but a federal judge just held in the great-grandparents’ favor.
Apocalypse Never
The book argues that rising prosperity and increasing technological prowess will ameliorate or reverse most deleterious environmental trends.
Trump Administration on Wrong Side of Important Religious Freedom Case Before the Supreme Court
The Administration claims money damages are never "appropriate" under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act - even when they are the only possible means of redressing rights violations.
Orthodox Jews Say They're Being Targeted by New NYC Lockdowns
The newest lockdown, which explicitly targets religious gatherings, seems likely to further skepticism of public health directives.
Trump Takes Credit for Food Aid in Letter to Needy Families. Sound Familiar?
The president has been criticized for politicizing aid as the election draws closer.
Eddie Van Halen, Melting-Pot Virtuoso
We don't normally talk about how rock's late, great lead guitarist was an immigrant success story and inspiration to early hip hop, but that's only because he (and America!) were too busy getting rad.
Review: Possessor: Uncut
Director Brandon Cronenberg finds a terrible beauty in this terrific sci-fi horror film.
Prison by Any Other Name
State involvement in people's lives—even "for their own good"—ends up becoming a backdoor way of policing and control.
Publishing Registered Sex Offenders' Home Addresses Before Halloween Is Gratuitous, Unethical, and Reckless
A petition urges Patch and other news outlets to reconsider the practice.
Seeing Like an Anarchist
How former slaves built an autonomous, self-sufficient, and nearly stateless society in the mountains of Haiti, and how they lost it
Brooklyn Eatery Sues New York State and Gov. Cuomo Over Looming 'Food Curfew'
Limiting the hours during which food can be served is arbitrary, unscientific, and could cause overcrowding, the plaintiffs argue.
Antebellum Is Empty Social Commentary Disguised as a Horror Movie
It's a one-note, one-twist concept in search of a story.
Throw a Billion Dollars From the Helicopter
A tale of ballpark upgrades and wasteful government spending
Marijuana Federalism
How do we resolve the cannabis conflict between state legalization and federal prohibition?
John Yoo: The Man Who Would Make the President King
The Trump presidency has been a stress test for maximalist theories of presidential power.
Hope for Free Market Reform in Uruguay
President Luis Lacalle Pou's defense of free market capitalism—extremely rare in Latin America—is no coronavirus fluke.
Yes, the 1619 Project Actually Suggests That Year Was America's True Founding, and Nikole Hannah-Jones Admits It
The New York Times tried to disassociate itself from a claim its reporter made just a few days ago.
The Iranian Coup that Led to 67 Years of Reckless Intervention
The documentary Coup 53 explores how a seemingly easy regime change wrecked U.S. foreign policy for decades.
Reviews: The Nest and No Escape
Jude Law and Carrie Coon in top form, and a little bit of torture porn lite.
Immortality, Inc.
Meet the wild dreamers and wealthy financiers striving for human immortality.
In 2020, We Have Forgotten How To Leave People Alone
Shopping at Target. Dining outdoors. No activity these days is too mundane for protesters to shout at you for it.
Taghi Amirani: How the U.S.-Backed 1953 Coup in Iran Is Still Changing Global Politics
New documentary explains why installing the shah in 1953 led to ruinous American covert operations throughout the Cold War and beyond.
The Sins and Virtues of New Religions
Occultists, social justice warriors, and techno-utopians may not look like the Christians of yore, but they're more religious than they realize.
Cuties and Its Critics Both Decry the Sexualization of Children
That point seems to have escaped many people who have not actually watched the controversial film, some of whom think it should banned.
Contrary to What Ted Cruz Thinks, Prepubescent Twerking Does Not Make Cuties Illegal
The federal definition of child pornography does not encompass risqué dancing by clothed 11-year-olds.
Milton Friedman Accused of Making Corporations Greedy
The New York Times touches on an old intra-libertarian debate over corporate responsibility.
Donald Trump, Bob Woodward, and the Noble Lie
The Reason Roundtable reads Bob Woodward, goes to the Oscars, weighs in on the NFL, and more.
George R.R. Martin Becomes a Victim of NIMBY Zoning Restrictions
Sadly, he's far from the only one. If we want to "break the wheel" of poverty and housing shortages, we need to roll back zoning.
The NFL Is Back. So Is the National Anthem Controversy. And Now There Are Two Anthems.
American society is grappling with complex, nuanced issues connected to race and political power. If we have to filter that debate through the binary of choosing to stand or sit for a national anthem, we'll never get much resolved.
Take My Likeness Out to the Ball Game
Baseball teams are finding unusual ways to make up for lost revenue.
The California Law That's Supposed To Help Home-Based Cooks Isn't Working
Only one county in the entire state has opted into A.B. 626
