Friday Open Thread
What's on your mind?
Politics
America Has Plenty of Experience With Government-Run Stores, and It Isn't Pretty
New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wants to open city-owned grocery stores. The U.S. already has a few, and they're a cautionary tale.
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
Classroom commandments, the FBI's Most Wanted, and a phone book artifice.
Criminal Justice Reformers Should Welcome Pam Bondi's Gun Rights Restoration Initiative
Democratic critics of the new program overlook the injustice of permanently disarming Americans who pose no threat to public safety.
Focus, No Distractions, and Grind
Plus: Trump the Jacksonian, a big day for SCOTUS decisions, and more...
Zohran Mamdani's Jewish Problem
The presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York has repeatedly missed opportunities to forthrightly condemn antisemitic violence.
RFK Jr.'s Handpicked Vaccine Panel Unsurprisingly Delivers Antivaccine Conclusions
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' vote ratifies unscientific claims linking a vaccine preservative to autism.
Does Mamdani's Win Matter Elsewhere?
Plus: Teachers union thinks your kids belong to them, more Jerome Powell antagonism, and more...
Will Zohran Mamdani Kill the Best Thing About New York City Public Schools?
The city's specialized high schools are one of the lone bright spots of its struggling public school system.
Despite What Robert F. Kennedy Wants You To Think, Cell Phones Do Not Cause Brain Cancer
Unfortunately, the director of Health and Human Services leads a movement prone to untrue beliefs on medical matters from cell phones to vaccines, pesticides, and genetically modified crops.
My City Just Voted for Socialism
Plus: Israel and Iran both get trophies, tariffs suck, steel dome, and more...
Trump Takes the Off-Ramp From the Israeli-Iranian War
War with Iran was a risky, destructive gamble. But the worst outcome has been avoided, for now.
Sports Absolutely Do Not Need Politicians More Involved
Plus: A case for gambling freedom, the NHL’s tax dilemma, and a soccer movie.
Get It All Out of the System
Plus: Strait of Hormuz possibly closing, NYC's socialist nonsense hopefully coming to a close, and more...
Brickbats: July 2025
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Anti-War President Starts New War. Again.
The Iran bombings, public land selloffs, and the collapse of big city governance
Campaign Finance Laws Institutionalize Corruption
Powerful political allies get a pass, while dissenters are crushed with massive fines. This isn’t a flaw in the system—it’s the point.
Abortion Rates Keep Rising After Dobbs
Strict abortion bans do not seem to be seriously stopping abortions.
Names You Might Not Want to Call a Judge in Court
Django Unchained: An enjoyable movie, but not always the best source of references in the courtroom.
Political Violence Surges Because Politics Matter Too Much
We’ve made government so powerful that people will fight rather than surrender control to the enemy.
The Court Might Favor Standing For Business Interests, But Blue States Beat Red States
Justices Jackson and Kavanaugh both miss the obvious distinction.
Will The Court GVR The Skrmetti Parental Rights Petition In Light Of Mahmoud?
The substantive due process question remains.
Conservative and Libertarian Public Interest Group Letter Opposing "Big Beautiful Bill" Provision that Undermines Access to Justice [Updated]
The provision requires litigants seeking preliminary injunctions against illegal government actions to post potentially enormous bonds.
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
Hapless lawyers, police auditors, and Welsh laws.
Review: What the Hell Is a 'Libertarian Authoritarian'?
Offended Freedom categorizes perfectly understandable anger at government overreach as inherently "authoritarian."
Will D.C. Repeal the Law That Has Cut Tipped Workers' Earnings by $1,800 a Year?
The law that was supposed to boost their wealth has left most of them poorer instead.
It Doesn't Matter If the Minnesota Shooter Is a Republican or a Democrat
After Vance Boelter allegedly targeted Democrats in an attack, some conservatives jumped to claim that he was actually on the left. Why?
The F-35 Ages Worse Than the Planes It's Meant To Replace
House Republicans' budget would spend billions of dollars on the F-35's successor before the current model is even up to par.
Scott Barry Kaufman: Incels, Narcissists, and the Victim Mindset
Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman joins Nick Gillespie to discuss toxic identity politics, the rise of grievance-based thinking, and why true self-actualization requires moving beyond victimhood.
'Evacuate Tehran'
Plus: A bipartisan effort to prevent American involvement in the war, ICE workplace raids to begin again, and more...
McCarthyism, Past—and Present?
Clay Risen's Red Scare book wrongly frames it as an exclusively conservative hysteria.
