Brickbat: Thank You for Your Service
A state investigation of a Massachusetts veterans home where 76 residents have died of from coronavirus has revealed errors that Gov. Charlie Baker called “horrific and tragic.” The biggest mistake …
Reason
As Bastiat Would Say, Peer Past the Obvious With Pandemic Policies
This week marks the 219th birthday of the great 19th-century French economist Frederic Bastiat. It’s the perfect time to talk about his famous essay, “That Which is Seen, and that …
“Rockland County [N.Y.] Issues Subpoenas, Fines to Contain Coronavirus Cluster”
From the New York Post (Bernadette Hogan and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon): Rockland County is playing hardball to contain a coronavirus cluster, issuing subpoenas and threatening $2,000 daily fines to force a …
And Another N.Y. Bill Targeted at “Hate Speech” (and Advocacy of Boycotts of Friendly Countries)
The bill, S.5285, was filed in May 2019 by state senator Robert G. Ortt, but was resubmitted in January 2020 to the Senate committee on higher education: [a.] The state …
Stare Decisis is an Old Latin Phrase that Means “Let the Decisions of the Warren Court Stand”
Superficially, Bostock may seem like a triumph for textualism. It wasn’t. Rather, Justice Gorsuch built a textualist edifice on top of non-textualist precedents from decades ago. His understanding of Title VII …
Chief Justice Roberts Rewrote Morrison v. Olson
Chief Justice Roberts talks a good game about stare decisis and stability. But time and time again, he reads precedent in such a distorted fashion as to effectively rewrite it. …
After 3 Weeks and 4 Shootings, Seattle Dismantles Its ‘Autonomous Zone’
The dream is over. This morning Seattle police cleared away the last remnants of an “autonomous zone” established by anti-police brutality protesters in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Today’s sweep …
Florida Just Passed the Most Sweeping Occupational Licensing Reform in History
Sweeping reforms signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday will loosen or abolish occupational licensing regulations across more than 30 professions, cutting red tape for potentially thousands …
As Delayed Tax Day Approaches, Consider What You Get for Your Money
Flattening the curve on COVID-19 has meant flattening the curve on tax season, too, pushing everything down the line a bit so that the final day to hand over the …
Justice Kagan on Hamilton in Federalist No. 77
There is much to admire in Justice Kagan’s Seila Law dissent. She wrote a robust historical analysis about the removal power. And, to be frank, Chief Justice Roberts didn’t bother responding to …