Goodbye to George Santos and Henry Kissinger
Plus: an unexpected digression into the world of Little Debbie dessert snack cakes.
Federal government
Even Hateful Protests Are Protected, Free Speech Group Reminds Congress
Respecting free speech defends individual rights and lets people show us who they are.
Janet Reno Is No Hero
A new biography by Judith Hicks Stiehm ignores Janet Reno's many failures as attorney general.
Henry Kissinger's Deadly Career Gives the Lie to the Myth of the Disinterested Statesman
But his cynical brand of realism did at least lead him to caution against some of America's ideological military adventures.
Yes, Heavy Regulation Hurts the Economy. Just Look at France.
We're often told European countries are better off thanks to big-government policies. So why is the U.S. beating France in many important ways?
The Best of Reason: The Endangered Species Act at 50
Why have so few species been taken off the endangered species list?
Do You Still Have the Right to a Jury Trial?
The Supreme Court will consider whether federal agencies’ administrative judges violate the Seventh Amendment.
He Wants To Label Food 'Low FODMAP.' The Government Won't Let Him.
Lots of Americans have an intolerance to FODMAPs—the sugars prevalent in garlic, onion, and many other foods.
SpaceX Makes Progress on Second Test of Starship
The private sector space company overcame red tape and government delays to get to launch day.
This Cop Was Acquitted for His Role in the Breonna Taylor Raid. The Feds Are Prosecuting Him—Again.
Maybe Brett Hankison shouldn't have been found not guilty, but he was. The Constitution says it should stop there.
The Great Medicaid Unwinding
The ongoing rollback of Medicaid is a rare step to reverse the “ratcheting growth” of our social safety net.
Full Extent of COVID Fraud Will 'Never Be Known With Certainty'
A new GAO report details federal prosecutors' attempts to put the horse back in the barn.
Here's One Way To Move Toward Responsible Government and Sane Fiscal Policy
The Copenhagen Consensus has long championed a cost-benefit approach for addressing the world's most critical environmental problems.
New Labor Rules Will Screw Over Your Local McDonalds
A new joint employer rule from the NLRB threatens to fundamentally change the business relationship between a franchise and its parent company.
After Moody's Warning, Federal Officials Continue To Ignore Fiscal Reality
Moody's calculates that interest payments on the national debt will consume over a quarter of federal tax revenue by 2033, up from just 9 percent last year.
Gun Hobbyists (and Liberty) Win Big in Court
Fifth Circuit judges slap the ATF for making up illegal rules against homemade guns.
The Endangered Species Act at 50
Why have so few species been taken off the endangered species list?
The FBI Needs Downsizing, Not $3.5 Billion for a New Headquarters
Lawmakers from Maryland and Virginia fought over which state should house the new site rather than whether the bureau even needs so many agents.
20 Years to Disaster
"The United States has about 20 years for corrective action after which no amount of future tax increases or spending cuts could avoid the government defaulting on its debt."
Dobbs Is Reshaping American Politics
A wave of ballot measures reminds us most Americans are moderate on abortion.
Is Chaos the Natural State of Congress?
The federal budgeting process was broken long before Matt Gaetz and Kevin McCarthy's recent spat.
Spending Recklessly in Good Times Is a Recipe for Disaster in Bad Times
Years ago, when interest rates were low, calls for the federal government to exercise fiscal restraint were dismissed. That was unwise.
Biden Wants Another $56 Billion in 'Emergency' Spending
Congress is being asked to borrow more money to fund broadband access and other pet projects. Only about $9 billion would be spent on natural disaster recovery efforts.
Federal Agencies Maintain Offices That Sit Mostly Empty
A new Government Accountability Office report notes that of 24 federal agencies, none of their headquarters are more than half-staffed on an average day.
New Speaker Mike Johnson's First Good Idea: A Debt Commission
A debt commission won't solve any of the federal government's fiscal problems, but it's the first step towards taking them seriously.
After Losing Billions to Scammers, This COVID Aid Program Won't Require All Loans To Be Repaid
But that decision seems to violate federal law.
Americans Learned a Lesson About Interest Rates. Washington Has Not.
Higher rates lead to more debt, and more debt begets higher rates, and on and on. Get the picture?
Prosecutors Appeal Proud Boys' Prison Sentences Over January 6 Riot
Prosecutors asked for longer prison sentences at trial and now seem to be trying again.
Americans Don't Much Like Federal Agencies
Yet another year of low ratings for the apparatus of the D.C. leviathan.
No, Low Interest Rates Did Not Justify Adding Trillions of Dollars to the National Debt
Especially because the once-dismissed possibility of rising rates is now a reality.
Matthew Shepard's Murder Was Almost Certainly Not an Anti-Gay Hate Crime
President Biden commemorated the 25th anniversary of his tragic death by celebrating legislation passed in Shepard's name. But it was based on a major falsehood.
The Shady Statistics Behind the War on Painkillers
The government has doubled down on failed policies, citing deeply flawed studies and misrepresenting data.
The Best of Reason: Competition, Not Antitrust, Is Humbling the Tech Giants
The worst of the antitrust alarmism keeps proving untrue, as tech companies believed by some to be monopolies instead lose market share.
Airlines Ask FAA To Regulate Competitor Out of Business
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and the largest union of pilots want the government to change regulations that allow a smaller competitor to operate.
The Federal Government Spent $3.3 Billion on Office Furniture as Employees Worked From Home
The Department of Defense spent $1.2 billion on furniture between 2020 and 2022, although it only uses 23 percent of its office space.
The Real Scandal in Washington Is the Government's Reckless Spending
Those sounding the loudest alarms about possible shutdowns are largely silent when Congress ignores its own budgetary rules. All that seems to matter is that government is metaphorically funded.
D.C.'s Food Truck Underworld
Despite their popularity, food trucks at the National Mall are paying a hefty price to operate.
Government Watchdog Calls Out Dangers in Section 702 Surveillance
A divided board recommends reforms as Congress debates renewing snooping authority.
Banning Criminal Background Checks Will Lead To More Housing Discrimination, Not Less
The best reforms would correct the real problems of overcriminalization and overincarceration, as well as removing all artificial barriers to building more homes.
This Law Will Kill Opportunities for Pregnant Workers
"These policies are motivated by good intentions. But that doesn't mean that the consequences of these policies will turn out well."
Competition, Not Antitrust, Is Humbling the Tech Giants
The worst of the antitrust alarmism keeps proving untrue, as tech companies believed by some to be monopolies instead lose market share.
America's Immigrant Brain Drain
International students want to stay in the U.S. after graduation. Most of them can't.
CEO: 'I'm the One Who Paid the Tariffs. China Did Not.'
Deena Ghazarian, CEO of consumer electronic company Austere, says the federal government's tariff exclusion process was "arcane, nontransparent, and highly uncertain."
How the Federal Budget Deficit Doubled in a Single Year
It's not the first time that has happened, but there are key differences about what happened this year.
5 Dissenters in the House
Plus: DeSantis' awkward pot situation, San Francisco's "overpaid executive" tax, and more…
Review: Alphabet Boys Explores Federal Cops' Manufactured Crimes
A new podcast asks whether federal agents are catching bad guys or creating them.
