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Politics
Brickbats: April 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Introduces Measure To Oust Mike Johnson as House Speaker
Johnson could lose the speakership for the same reasons Kevin McCarthy lost it just five months ago. Who will be next?
A GOP Plan To Raise the Retirement Age Reveals How Unserious Washington Is About Social Security
An obvious, tepid reform was greeted with shrill partisan screeching.
Hardcore History's Dan Carlin: 'History Is Not Like Math'
The podcasting pioneer argues that "history is a moving target."
Partisan Post-Game (Episode 2)
Republican and Democrat coaches take questions from the press.
Truth Social Can Be Yours
Plus: NYC squatters, sex differences and chess ability, trouble at the ACLU, and more...
Biden Wants To Avoid a First Amendment Showdown Over WikiLeaks
U.S. prosecutors are looking to wriggle out of an espionage trial for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Will the Supreme Court Let Sylvia Gonzalez Sue the Political Enemies Who Engineered Her Arrest?
"Mayors should not be allowed to launder animus through warrants," the former city council member's lawyer told the justices.
The National Debt Is a National Security Issue
The growing debt will "slow economic growth, drive up interest payments," and "heighten the risk of a fiscal crisis," the CBO warns.
American Nightmare
Plus: Squatters, Julian Assange, teen babysitters, Hong Kong migration, and more...
Harlan Institute-Ashbrook Virtual Supreme Court Finalists
The top 8 teams presented oral argument in Moody v. NetChoice.
Another Judge Says Illegal Immigrants Have Second Amendment Rights
Some supposed defenders of the right to bear arms react with alarm.
David Boaz: Libertarianism Is the Intellectual Core of Liberalism
How Vietnam, Watergate, and stagflation supercharged the libertarian movement.
The Political Right Has Luxury Beliefs, Too
Support for industrial policy and protectionism are supposed to help the working class. Instead, these ideas elevate the already privileged.
'15 Days To Slow the Spread': On the Fourth Anniversary, a Reminder to Never Give Politicians That Power Again
In the name of safety, politicians did many things that diminished our lives—without making us safer.
Hong Kong Falls, Again
Plus: DEI at the DOE, NYC subway culture, the pandemic's effect on student behavior, and more...
Democrats Are Once Again Boosting MAGA Republicans
Even if successful, the strategy demonstrates how little interest politicians have in standing for something, rather than against something else.
Texas Barred From Detaining Border-Crossers
Plus: Cuba's collapse, D.C.'s crime rate, Austin's housing market, and more...
Bloodbath
Plus: Space dining, Russian elections, Bernie Sanders' 32-hour workweek, and more...
The New York Times Again Worries That Free Speech Endangers Democracy
The newspaper portrays the constitutional challenge to the government's social media meddling as a conspiracy by Donald Trump's supporters.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Public use, ballot selfies, and a bonkers closing statement.
Pano Kanelos: 'Ideology Is the Death of Ideas'
The president of the new University of Austin wants to reverse the decline of higher education in America.
The U.S. Steel/Nippon Deal Should Be None of Joe Biden's Business
Both companies consented to the deal. Why should they have to get permission from the president to do business?
Senate Race Revealed Shortcomings of California's 'Top Two' Primary Reform
A change that promised to be a moderating influence on politics has instead made campaigns more vicious than ever.
With Another Nasty Election Looming, Prepping Goes Mainstream
Nearly 15 million Americans had 31 days or more of at-home preparedness in 2020.
Oklahoma Autopsy Finds That a Bullied Nonbinary Student Committed Suicide
After blaming the state's bathroom law, The New York Times says "it has never been clear" whether gender identity figured in the fight that preceded Nex Benedict's death.
Algorithm Not for Sale
Plus: Kamala Harris' abortion clinic visit, Karl Marx's hypocrisy, CDC data struggles, and more...
What Republicans and Democrats Can Learn From the Jacobins' Spiraling Crisis
At every stage, a breach on one side provoked an even more extreme response on the other.
Study Finds Law Professor Contributions to Political Campaigns Skew Overwhelmingly Democratic
Notre Dame law Prof. Derek Muller so finds in a new analysis of law professor political donations between 2017 and 2023.
YouTube Algorithm Steers People Away From Radical Content
Another blow to the idea that algorithms are driving our political dysfunction.
