'Evening With Cancelled Women' Gets Cancelled

Six feminists who have clashed with transgender activists were slated to appear at the New York Public Library for "An Evening With Cancelled...

Trump and Comey Are United Against Encrypted Communications

For all the public sparring between the two inflated egos known as Donald Trump and James Comey, the president and the former FBI director have...

Prosecution for Threatening ACLU Employees May Go Forward

From United States v. Carrillo , decided Wednesday by Judge Kea W. Riggs (D.N.M.): The indictment provides: "On or about June 19, 2019, in Valencia...

Classical Stuff You Should Know

Sure, you read Plato's Republic in college, but how much do you really remember? Did you know that a 12th century French poem, "The Song of...

My Forthcoming Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"

My new book Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom will be published by Oxford University Press in April. It is now available...

Trump's Confrontation With Iran Shows Americans Have Learned Not To Rush Into War

After President Trump ordered the extrajudicial killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said publicly that this...

Brickbat: Picking 'Winners'

The Crescent Dunes solar plant in Nevada received $737 million in loan guarantees from the federal government in 2011, and officials hailed it as...

U.S. Troops Were Harmed by Iranian Attack. (We Still Shouldn't Go to War With Iran.)

U.S. troops were injured in Iranian missile attack. The Pentagon is now reporting that 11 members of the American military were harmed when Iran...

Eminem's Latest Music Video Mixes a Graphic Reenactment of Las Vegas Shooting With a Sappy Call for Gun Control

If you like graphic reenactments of mass shootings, gun control, and rap, Eminem's latest offering might just be for you. Just after midnight, the...

She Came To Slay

Several biographies have humanized Harriet Tubman over the last two decades, filling in the blanks of a much-mythologized life. The most recent...

Today in Supreme Court History: January 17, 1973 and January 17, 1996

Will Robots Cause Mass Unemployment? A Soho Forum Debate

Robotics will soon lead to widespread joblessness and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. That was the resolution of a public debate...

Four Observations Concerning the GAO Decision

Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a decision concerning the withholding of Ukraine security assistance. I had four...

The Impeachment End Game, II

Sen. Rand Paul is quoted on the front page of the Washington Post [here] this morning: "Look, no Republicans were for the inquiry to begin with so...

No More Pandemics?

Remember SARS? Back in 2003, this deadly coronavirus had jumped the species barrier (probably from bats) into human beings and was spreading across...

Gun Rights Groups Sue Over Virginia Governor's 'Emergency' Ban

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has issued an emergency executive order barring the bearing of arms in the area where a gun rights rally is scheduled...

Transgender Writer Forced to Retract Trans-Themed Science Fiction Story

Clarkesworld, a well-regarded science fiction and fantasy web magazine, recently published first-time author Isabel Fall. The title of her story,...

You Can Call Connecticut "The Sanserif State"

Ninth Circuit Dismisses Kids Climate Case for Lack of Standing

Today a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that the plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States —the so-called...

Justice Department Investigates Appalling Conditions at Mississippi Prisons

The Justice Department is now reportedly investigating Mississippi prisons, in the wake of violence that left five inmates dead as well as news...

Will Robots Lead to Widespread Joblessness and Economic Inequality?

Robotics will soon lead to widespread joblessness and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. That was the resolution of a public debate...

Colorado Judge Rejects Petition for a Gun Confiscation Order Against a Police Officer

A Colorado judge yesterday rejected a woman's petition for a court order that would disarm the police officer who killed her son in 2017—a...

Avenue 5 Is Veep in Space—That Doesn't Make It Great

The best TV review I ever read appeared in TV Guide sometime back in the mid-'60s. Unfortunately, I can't find it anywhere on the internet. (Why...

Joe Biden Wants To Destroy Free Speech on Social Media

In an interview with the New York Times' editorial board, former Vice President Joe Biden made his most stringent call yet for cracking down on...

Yes, Rhode Island Should Legalize Marijuana. No, the State Shouldn't Run the Shops.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo released her proposed budget for 2021 yesterday. Apparently, she's counting on the state to legalize recreational...

Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions

Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature from the Institute for Justice. New IJ cert petition: Is an officer who has...

Victims or Criminals? Cops Can't Decide When It Comes to Teens Selling Sex

Wisconsin's efforts to stop "human trafficking" largely target people selling sex, including those who are underage. A third of police surveyed in...

Does Letting Police Enter Your House Give Them Permission To Wreck It?

When Shaniz West agreed to let police enter her house so they could arrest her former boyfriend, she had no idea she was consenting to a barrage of...

Is Farm-Free Food the Future?

Factory farming may soon well mean something quite different than feedlot cattle and battery chickens. Entrepreneurs around the globe are seeking...

Georgia Death Row Prisoner Jimmy Meders Has Sentence Commuted Hours Before Execution

Jimmy Meders was scheduled to die by lethal injection today, but the Georgia parole board has granted him clemency. Meders was convicted and...

Family Sues DEA and TSA After Elderly Man's Life Savings Were Seized at Airport

Terrence Rolin kept his life savings in a Tupperware container, but all that money now belongs to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), even...

Inclusion in Texas Gang Membership Database Limits Gun Rights, Might Violate Due Process

From Apodaca-Fisk v. Allen , decided Monday by Judge Dadvid C. Guaderrama (W.D. Tex.): The following facts derive from Plaintiff's [Complaint] and,...

Musician Sues Houston For His Right To Play His Accordion In Public

Houston, Texas, covers 665 square miles, yet the amount of space where you are legally allowed to play music for tips is limited to the city's tiny...

By Withholding Funds to Ukraine, Trump Broke the Law

One argument that President Donald Trump's supporters have employed in the impeachment debate is that it was merely a " policy dispute ." Yes,...

Brickbat: That Burns

In Australia, the government of the state of Western Australia has defended the use of emergency services levy money to fund artwork for fire...

A Memphis Cop Will Get $3,600 a Month, Even After Having Sex With a Suspect in a Murder Case

A Memphis police officer will receive $3,600 a month for the rest of his life, even though he had a sexual relationship with a woman he was...

The Houston Astros Cheating Scandal and Legal Education

Mike Barry, the Dean of the South Texas College of Law, sent an insightful message to the students and faculty concerning the Houston Astros...

Today in Supreme Court History: January 16, 1919

Is a Religious House of Worship "Used in Interstate Commerce"?

Several years ago, federal prosecutor indicted Robert Doggart for soliciting others to help destroy a mosque in upstate New York. Among the...

The Failure of LBJ's Great Society and What It Means for the 21st Century

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced his plans for what he called "the Great Society," a sweeping set of programs that marked the most...

Trump's Trade Deal With China Is Better Than a Trade War With China. But a $200 Billion Question Remains.

President Donald Trump inked his so-called "Phase One" trade deal with China earlier this week, putting in place a framework that the White House...

The FBI Wants To Treat Carter Page Warrant Mistakes Like Training Problems. A Court Adviser Says That's Not Enough.

The FBI's newly released plans to avoid mistakes when seeking permission to wiretap and surveil American citizens is insufficient, according to an...

D.C.'s Cash-strapped Public Transit Agency Didn't Know It Had Hundreds of $400 Gold Pins Sitting in Storage

Washington, D.C.'s largest public transportation agency has been sitting on a stash of gold and didn't even know it. A recent report found that the...

'It Was Never About Corruption': Giuliani Associate Says Trump Was Involved in Ukraine Scandal

An associate of Rudy Giuliani said this week that "President Trump knew exactly what was going on" in reference to a secret campaign to pressure...

Precedent Matters at the Supreme Court—Until It Doesn't

In May 2019, Justice Stephen Breyer chastised his five Republican-appointed colleagues for overruling one of the Supreme Court's own precedents. "I...

Elizabeth Warren Has a Fake Plan To Pay for Medicare for All

In releasing a proposal to pay for single-payer—the fully government-financed health care system she calls Medicare for All—Sen. Elizabeth Warren...

Judge Temporarily Blocks Potential Eviction of UConn Students in the "Racial Ridicule" Case

From this afternoon's decision by U.S. District Court Judge Michael P. Shea in Mucaj v. Univ. of Connecticut (see this post for the facts and for...

Tyler Cowen on "State Capacity Libertarianism" I: Is it the Wave of the "Smart" Libertarian Future?

In a much-discussed recent blog post, economist Tyler Cowen advocates what he calls "state capacity libertarianism" (which I will call "SCL" for...

Why LBJ's Great Society Flopped—and What It Means for the 2020 Election

In a 1964 speech delivered at the University of Michigan, President Lyndon Johnson announced his plans for what he called "the Great Society," a...

Proposed Hemp Regulations Would Be a Nightmare for Farmers

The federal government is considering various regulations on the commercial harvesting of hemp, and hemp farmers are none too thrilled. The U.S....

Grand Jury Backs Murder Charges Against Houston Cop Who Lied to Justify a Deadly Drug Raid

"Because officers lied, people died," Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Kim Ogg said today at a press conference where she announced a grand...

First Amendment Argument in the UConn "Racial Ridicule" Case

From the Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order or Preliminary Injunction, just filed today in Mucaj v. Univ. of Connecticut: This First...

Social Engineering Run Amok in the Department of Labor

A few years ago, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released two reports detailing enforcement and litigation abuses by the Department of Labor's Office...

ERA Now?

Virginia has now become the 38th state to vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which arguably crosses the ratification threshold set out in...

Corrections Officers, Jurors, and the Family of Nick Sutton's Victims Want Him Taken Off Death Row

It's not often that one hears of seven correctional officers and personnel, the family of a murder victim, and former jurors ask for the life of a...

House Votes To Send Impeachment Articles to Senate as New Evidence Comes to Light

The House of Representatives voted 228-193 on Wednesday to formally send articles of impeachment to the Senate, signaling the start of President...

Justin Amash's Biggest Fiscally Conservative National Donors Are Abandoning His Re-election Bid

FreedomWorks, the influential libertarian/conservative advocacy group that gave Rep. Justin Amash (I–Mich.) FreedomFighter Awards each of his...

The Democratic Debates Are Downers. That's a Big Problem for All of Us.

I found last night's Democratic presidential debate to be profoundly depressing and downbeat, yet I struggle to explain why exactly. As a small-l...

New CDC Report Highlights the Risks of Black-Market THC Vapes

According to a new report on the sources of cannabis products used by patients with vaping-related lung injuries, 84 percent said they had obtained...

Democrats Chased the Peace Vote Last Night, but Can We Trust Them to Follow Through?

ALast night's Democratic presidential debate on CNN featured a good deal of foreign policy chatter, for a change—one of the only semi-reassuring...

2019 Was Second Warmest Year on Record Says NOAA

The Earth's global surface temperatures in 2019 were the second warmest since modern record-keeping began in 1880, according to the National...

The Senate Has Enough Votes To Stop Further Unapproved Military Action Against Iran

Four Senate Republicans have announced support for a resolution limiting President Donald Trump's power to engage in military actions against Iran...

Brickbat: Up in Smoke

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration thought they had a major drug bust on their hands. State...

Oakland Uses SWAT Force With Tanks and an Armored Vehicle To Evict Squatting Activists

A SWAT team supplied with tanks and a Bearcat armored vehicle evicted a group of homeless activists on Tuesday morning after they refused to leave...

LAPD Chief Says Its Gang Database Abuse Scandal Now Has 'Criminal Aspects'

The investigation into the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) gang database scandal has turned into a criminal probe. As Reason previously...

A Missed Opportunity

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has now announced the slate of House managers who will prosecute the impeachment case before the Senate. Consistent with the...

Today in Supreme Court History: January 15, 1908

Will Any 2020 Candidate Offer an Alternative to Trump's Trade Protectionism?

Whether President Donald Trump wins re-election this year, his protectionist economic views and skepticism about the benefits of foreign trade are...

The Trump Administration Wants To Speed Up the Delivery of Infrastructure Projects

That $1.5 trillion infrastructure proposal President Donald Trump had floated early in his presidency never quite came to fruition, but his latest...

Corrections Officers, Jurors, and the Families of Nick Sutton's Victims Want Him Taken Off Death Row

It's not often that one hears of seven correctional officers and personnel, the family of a murder victim, and former jurors ask for the life of a...

War Worries Transcend Trump

Matt Gaetz's campaign website features press quotes describing the Florida Republican as "Trump's best buddy," "Trump's ultimate defender," and...

New Jersey Passes Civil Asset Forfeiture Reforms

New Jersey took two major steps yesterday toward reforming law enforcement's use of civil asset forfeiture, a practice that allows police and...

Tonight Will Be Bernie's Time in the Barrel

The drama at tonight's Democratic debate is going to be all about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.), and not simply because he stands accused of...

President Trump Rejects Premise of Justice Department Briefs in ACA Case

Last night, the President tweeted about his health care policy accomplishments: I stand stronger than anyone in protecting your Healthcare with...

The FBI Wants Access to a Mass Shooter's iPhone. Will They Demand a Backdoor?

When the dust from a suspected terrorist attack on U.S. soil eventually settles, the inevitable fight over access to encrypted communications can...

Did We Just Hear Three Democratic Candidates Talk About Reducing Deficit and Debt?

Most moments in Democratic presidential debates this cycle can be classified in one of three ways: 1) Let's raise all the taxes! 2) Let's spend all...

Arizona Governor Wants To Put the Public in Charge of Licensing Boards

If the rules don't make sense, often it helps to look at who is writing them. Take occupational licensing, for example. It's no longer a secret...

D.C.'s Police Department Is Being Sued (Again) for Sexually Violating Someone During a Search

The Washington, D.C., wing of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-DC) is suing a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer for conducting...

CNN Implicitly Took Elizabeth Warren's Side in the Unproven Sexism Accusation Against Bernie Sanders

Diehard supports of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) have long believed that the mainstream media finds subtle ways to undermine their candidate—and...

Court Rejects Motion to Seal Litigation Finance Agreements

From List Interactive, Ltd. v. Knights of Columbus (D. Colo.), decided last Tuesday by Judge R. Brooke Jackson: ORDER denying 268 Motion for Leave...

Brickbat: Women's Work

The British Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad for PC Specialist, which sells custom computers, because there are no women in the ad....

Warren Accuses Sanders of Saying a Woman Couldn't Win in 2020

CNN kicked off some shit yesterday between Sens. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.), just ahead of the Democratic...

When Border Defense Becomes Border Offense

Empire of Borders: The Expansion of the U.S. Border Around the World , by Todd Miller, Verso Books, 304 pages, $29.95 Military contractors from...

Today in Supreme Court History: January 14, 1780

Students Sue UConn in "Racial Ridicule" Case

From the Complaint in Mucaj v. Univ. of Connecticut , just filed today. (The legal argument supporting these allegations will come in a day or two,...

Joe Biden's Debate Answer About His Support for the Iraq War Leaves Out Some Important Details

Former Vice President Joe Biden says his vote for the Iraq war was a mistake. That's good, but it's not good enough—and his explanation of his...

Florida Deputies Placed on Leave After Video Shows Them Beating, Tasing Suspect

Three Florida deputies have been placed on administrative leave while the department investigates a harrowing video showing them tasing and beating...

The Woke Primary Is Over and Everyone Lost

In the run-up to tonight's Democratic presidential debate in Iowa, the last such contest before primary voting begins, one of the big storylines is...

Sorry, Bernie Sanders: Taiwan's Single Payer System Isn't an Argument for Medicare for All

One of the most frequent arguments that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) makes in favor of single-payer health care is that other countries have...

An Ohio City Is Declaring Itself a 'Crime Victim' of a False Police Report and Demanding Restitution

An Ohio city is trying to use the state's Marsy's Law—intended to protect the rights of crime victims—to demand a man pay them back the costs...

Fed Scientists Filmed Themselves Giving Monkeys Brain Damage. A Watchdog Group Wants the Footage.

The White Coat Waste Project (WCW), a nonprofit opposed to tax-funded animal testing, is suing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...

California Killed 1.2 Million Birds To Stop a Virus. Pet Owners Say They Were Terrorized.

Kerri Hand became a chicken owner for the eggs, but then she fell in love. A retired cop who lives in rural southern California, Hand and her...

Gaze Upon the Worst Anti-Vaping Poster Ever and Despair

My home state of New Jersey has many things to be proud of, from being the only state of two colonial colleges to hosting the first baseball and...

Occupational Licensing Hurts the Little Guy

People who want to work should be allowed to work. That includes people who once went to jail. With President Donald Trump's support, Congress...

Trump's Iranian Justification Eroding by the Minute

This week's Reason Roundtable podcast picks up where last week's left off: Iran. Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt...

Gavin Newsom's Solution to California's Homelessness Problem: Throw Another Billion Dollars at It

California's homeless population keeps skyrocketing, and so has the number of bills aiming at solving the homelessness problem. Last week, Gov....

The fine line between deepfake legislation and deeply fake legislation

There's a fine line between legislation addressing deepfakes and legislation that is itself a deep fake. Nate Jones reports on the only federal...

Should Wall Street Be Worried by Potential Sanders, Warren Presidencies?

With Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) currently leading Democratic presidential polls in Iowa and New Hampshire—and with caucuses and the primary in...