Monday Open Thread
What's on your mind?
Politics
Sending in the Guard
Plus: Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case, what's wrong with emergency rooms, and more...
Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! The October Term 2025 of FantasySCOTUS is now in session
Predict all of the biggest cases at the Supreme Court.
Texas and Florida Have Become National Models for Using the Police State To Wage Culture War Battles
From library books to abortion, gender, and even food, the culture war is now feeding the police state.
Lindy-Hopping Nazis and Golems With Guns: The Return of Thomas Pynchon
In Shadow Ticket, characters are forever finding refuge in the folds of the map.
Short Circuit: An Inexhaustive Weekly Compendium of Rulings from the Federal Courts of Appeal
Qualified privileges, unequal conspiracies, and a file in hand.
No Calamity
Plus: Mamdani wants to cut gifted programs, Tyler Cowen's AI film takes, Newsom's revenge, and more...
Economic Freedom Begins Recovery From COVID-Era Government Meddling
Authoritarian pandemic policy made the world poorer and less free.
Gavin Newsom Loves AI Satire Now!
Thank goodness that judge struck down the legislation he supported.
Josh Hawley and Democrat Allies Target AI With New Legal and Regulatory Regime
Two bills recently introduced by Hawley would set American AI and the economy back.
Turning the Government Shutdown Into a Fight About the Filibuster Is a Terrible Idea
Democrats should use the shutdown to curb the Trump administration's worst authoritarian abuses, not to try to goad Republicans into eliminating an important check on executive excess.
The Justice Department's Targeting of George Soros Is a Serious Scandal
Just as it was a scandal when the IRS under Obama allegedly targeted Tea Party groups.
How To Fix College
Plus: The Dignity of Dependence, infinite scroll, ZIRP narratives, and more...
The Government Shutdown Is a Distraction—From Our $37 Trillion Debt
This time, Democrats turned the most basic government housekeeping into hostage drama.
Government Shutdowns Are an Example of Congress Doing Its Job
Refusing to fund the government is the primary way minority party lawmakers can check the excesses of the executive branch and the majority party.
In 107 Days, Kamala Harris Unleashes Criticism on Biden. Honestly, It's Relatable.
The book offers ample reminders of what people find irritating about Harris. But she also comes across as relatable and even, occasionally, amusing.
How Oregon's Drug Experiment Backfired
The lesson isn’t that decriminalization can’t work. It’s that Portland-style governance is broken.
Trump: Government Shutdown Could Do 'A Lot of Good'
Plus: Addressing "the enemy within," the FTC's pointless meddling, Joy Reid finally understands half the country, and more...
Could This Be the Best Government Shutdown Ever?
Take your opportunities for smaller government where you find them.
Democrats Get Mariachi'd
Plus: Jimmy Kimmel Live! plagues my neighborhood, Hegseth's fancy meeting, Eric Adams gone but not forgotten, and more...
Assata Shakur Stood With the Oppressors
The fugitive freedom fighter allied with a government known for imprisoning dissidents, curtailing civil liberties, and forging equality in the sense that people are more equally oppressed.
The Conspiracy Theorists Who Claim Kamala Harris Really Won in 2024
Echoes of Trump's 2020 delusions are reborn in blue.
Two Prominent Left-Liberal Thinkers Reconsider Libertarianism
Legal scholar Cass Sunstein and economic policy commentator Noah Smith haven't become libertarians - but they take a more favorable view of that ideology than before. This evolution might prefigure a potential alliance between libertarians and "abundance" liberals.
Government Set To Shut Down Tomorrow
Plus: Eric Adams drop out, Assata Shakur gets fawned over, James Comey gets roasted, and more...
Does Denying Hamas Committed Sexual Violence on 10/7 Constitute "Criticism of Israel's Treatment of Palestinians?"
Federal judge Timothy Savage seems to think so.
The Law No Longer Listens To Justice Kennedy
Justice Kennedy's new book reminds me how grateful I am the law no longer listens to him.
In Trump's Tussle With James Comey, You Should Hope Everybody Loses
The administration is pursuing a vendetta, but Comey and the FBI deserve scrutiny and reduced stature.
