The Not-So-Peaceful Transfer of Power
Our long record of peaceful transfers of power now has an asterisk on it.
Topics
Parents: Don't Be Boring, Relentless Teachers
No need to follow the stultifying advice from Parents magazine on how to "Supercharge Every Storytime."
Biden Says His Immigration Policy Will Be Better Than Obama's
President Barack Obama's government deported more people than any other administration in history.
Little Green Men Caught in Red Tape
When a metal monolith was discovered in the desert, all federal officials could see was a zoning violation.
Political Problems Are Policy Problems
The market's failure to produce an ideal outcome cannot alone justify activist policy, because governments can also fail to produce the ideal.
Preserve Your Sanity by Preserving Food
Canning is a hedge against uncertainty, an education in self-reliance, and a pocket of calm amid tumult.
The Silver Lining in Biden's Massive Housing Plan
A Democratic White House and a Republican Senate might be the best of all worlds when it comes to federal housing policy.
Will New York Lead the Way in Screwing Up School Reopening?
Remote learning continues to be the norm for more than three out of four New York City public school students.
What Amy Coney Barrett Got Wrong About Lochner
Justice Barrett should revisit her views on this wrongly maligned case.
It's Time To Fix Green Card Quotas
Current law caps the number of employment-based green cards that can be granted each year at 40,000, which doesn't meet demand.
The 2020 Election Was a Rebuke of Socialism
The s-word doesn't actually play too well with most voters.
District Attorney Candidates Win Big Against 'Tough on Crime'
During the last few election cycles, a wave of well-funded progressive candidates have run for prosecutor's offices in major cities. This time, quite a few reform-minded D.A.s won.
Biden Pledges to Rejoin Paris Climate Agreement
His plan says that by 2035, no electric power should be generated by burning fossil fuels, and the U.S. should commit to zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.
California Voters Liberate Ride-Share Drivers From A.B. 5
The lawmakers who passed A.B. 5 ignored the many benefits of contractor status.
Professor Elinor 'Lin' Ostrom
Ostrom was best known for her studies of how local groups manage natural resources.
Congress Targets Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google for Being Popular
After a 16-month investigation into the big four tech companies, it seems the most that congressional busybodies can accuse them of is routine business practices and having popular services.
The Risk of Arrest for Cannabis Consumers Is Shrinking
Nationwide, marijuana arrests peaked at nearly 873,000 in 2007; the 2019 number was 37 percent lower.
In Defense of COVID Billionaires
Billionaires may well have enabled our greatest (only?) policy successes in 2020.
Murky Laws Make It Too Easy To Label Good Parents 'Neglectful'
Everyday parenting decisions should not put people at risk of getting arrested, losing their kids, or being listed on a state registry for child endangerment.
The Foxconn Con
The company's Wisconsin outpost was supposed to create 13,000 jobs; as of this year it employed no more than 281 people.
Humanity and Wild Nature Will Likely Both Be Flourishing in 2100
Human ingenuity is enabling us to get ever more goods and services from fewer and fewer resources.
An Anti-Racist Education for Middle Schoolers
District officials in San Diego evidently believe that the practice of grading students based on average scores is racist.
Dodd-Frank Is Driving the Wrong Kind of Innovation
The federal government responded to the 2008 mortgage crisis by piling new regulations on the financial system, but lower-skilled finance employees were squeezed out of the job market.
Are Car Seat Laws Driving Down America's Birthrate?
While these laws are intended to save children's lives in the event of an accident, Nickerson and Solomon argue that the effect on birthrates is much bigger.
Is Same-Sex Marriage Secure?
Will a rightward shift on the bench would result in the reversal of Obergefell? Probably not.
$75 Billion in Band-Aids Won't Cure Ailing Airlines
Airlines keep claiming they need a second bailout to bring back 35,000 furloughed employees. Don't buy their argument.
Drugs Declare Victory in War on Drugs
States where recreational use has been legalized now include about a third of the U.S. population.
Good News About Gridlock
Fans of limited government have a lot to be happy about. It's much harder to go big when you are constantly at risk of being told to go home.
Jo Jorgensen's 1% Triumph
With no name recognition, no money, and no media, the Jorgensen campaign helped cement the L.P.'s decadelong transformation into the third party in the United States.
The Shaky Case for State Bailouts
Governments should prepare for emergencies by cutting spending during flush times.
Bourgeois Libertarianism Could Save America
Don't underestimate the civilization-saving powers of respecting private property and generally minding your own business.
Pandemic Rules Are Only for the Little People
We're expected to suffer discomfort, economic pain, and emotional distress or else pay fines or serve jail time. Government officials, meanwhile, take offense when called out for violating the standards they created.
Predictive Policing or Targeted Harassment?
Audits and research into the effectiveness of predictive policing have yielded mixed to negative assessments.
The Feds Are Spreading Fake Facts About Fentanyl
While fentanyl is a dangerous drug, it is very difficult to overdose on it through accidental exposure.
Still Waiting for Drone Deliveries
At the end of August, the FAA finally gave Amazon approval for its Prime Air drone delivery fleet.
Solar and Wind Power Struggle as California Faces Blackouts
The state's electricity grid operators warned in 2019 that power shortages might become increasingly common when heat waves hit in the coming years.
Dorothy Day: Personalist Hero
The enigmatic founder of the Catholic Worker Movement was an extraordinary avatar of nonviolent dissent.
The CDC's Eviction Moratorium Is Neither Necessary Nor Legally Sound
Despite fears that a pandemic-ravaged economy would force renters from their homes in droves, evictions were down nationwide at the end of summer.
Scalia and Ginsburg, Best Friends Forever
The two Supreme Court justices were civil colleagues on the bench and good friends away from it.
The Dangerous Lure of Political Violence
How seriously should we take the threats of protesters who recently built guillotines outside of Jeff Bezos' house?
Meat Bills Are on the Menu in Congress
America's meat supply has been hammered by COVID-19 outbreaks at many of the nation's largest meat processing plants, but Congress can solve this by reducing onerous regulations.
Shrooms Are on the D.C. Ballot
The reformers who canvassed for signatures for the initiative say they're optimistic it will pass despite objections from Congress, which controls D.C. spending.
This Judge Is Wrong About Economic Liberty and the Constitution
Perhaps Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht ought to read more history, starting with the speeches of the late Rep. John Bingham.
PPParty Time!
Turns out some of the federal government's PPP loans ended up going to people who didn't need them quite as badly.
A Plague of Pandemic Restrictions Builds Herd Immunity to Arbitrary Rules
Expect widespread cynicism toward official dictates to linger after the virus is history.
Rapid Home COVID-19 Tests Are the Best Path to a New Normal. They're Illegal.
Delivering rapid at-home testing kits to 330 million Americans is "something we can actually do at warp speed."
The Federal Death Penalty Returns
State-level executions have been on the decline since 2000, but the federal government recently got back in the business of executing prisoners.
