When former Solicitor-General Una Jagose KC told a Law Association breakfast on 2 July 2026 that New Zealand risks “sleepwalking” towards a collapse of the separation of powers, she framed herself as the constitution’s anxious guardian. The framing deserves scrutiny.
The limits Una Jagose KC cannot name
The limits Una Jagose KC cannot name
11 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
Once again: why anti-Zionism is antisemitism
08 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, war against terror
Of. course I’ll get raked for putting up this post, but I’m frankly sick of people denigrating others as “Zionists”, which in most cases is simply a euphemism for “people who are pro-Israel” or even “Jews”, so that “anti-Zionist” becomes a euphemism for “anti-Israel” or “antisemitic”. My contention, echoed by Natasha Hausdorff and Douglas Murray…
Once again: why anti-Zionism is antisemitism
The power of incentives with illegal migration
08 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in Economics of international refugee law, international economic law, international economics, International law, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
At the end of June the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported. A few weeks later 60,000 people from Morocco crossed in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, almost doubling their population in a few days. People smugglers exploit situations. This is why you need harsh preventive measures.…
The power of incentives with illegal migration
The Lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith: A Dark Mirror of American History
07 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: racial discrimination
On the night of August 7, 1930, the small city of Marion, Indiana became the site of one of the most infamous and haunting episodes of racial violence in American history—the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. What makes this event particularly searing in the American consciousness isn’t just the brutality of the act. […]
The Lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith: A Dark Mirror of American History
The False Equivalence of Islamophobia and Antisemitism
06 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: Freedom of religion, racial discrimination
Islamophobia and antisemitism are often discussed as though they were equivalent forms of prejudice: one directed against Muslims and the other against Jews. At a superficial level, the comparison is understandable. Muslims and Jews may both face hostility, discrimination, vilification and violence because of their perceived identity. Such treatment is wrong in either case. But […]
The False Equivalence of Islamophobia and Antisemitism
The Confession of Joe Biden
05 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA
Below is my column in The Hill on the release of the tapes from former President Joe Biden’s interview with…
The Confession of Joe Biden
The Sound of Silence: Fauci Takes the Fifth and the Heat Over his Diary Disclosures
31 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of regulation, health economics, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of pandemics
Below is my column on Fox.com on yesterday’s “testimony” from Dr. Anthony Fauci. Americans deserve answers to the questions raised…
The Sound of Silence: Fauci Takes the Fifth and the Heat Over his Diary Disclosures
The Endangered Species Act Reduces Housing
31 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, urban economics
Max Tabarrok’s paper on the Endangered Species Act and housing (WP) has just been published in the Journal of Public Economics! It’s a clever paper: Max observed that the moment an animal is put on the endangered species list, developers face enhanced compliance costs and liability risk. But what’s important for an empirical economist is…
The Endangered Species Act Reduces Housing
RODNEY HIDE: The Strange New Face of Women’s Empowerment
30 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of religion, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Here is a single image that captures the extent to which we are lost. Khadija Patel stands at the Palace of Westminster, recipient of the British Citizen Award 2026 for her “work empowering young women.” She is covered from head to toe. Only her eyes are visible. The official caption celebrates her as a champion…
RODNEY HIDE: The Strange New Face of Women’s Empowerment
Radio NZ at it again
30 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of religion, law and economics, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, war and peace Tags: Germany, media bias, war against terror
Simon O’Connor points out: So Radio NZ ran a story from Reuters about the terrible hate crime attack in Berlin which saw 1 killed and 29 wounded at a pride festival. However they removed a key detail from the story. That the attacker was an Islamist. Reuters had this in their story, yet Radio NZ…
Radio NZ at it again
Criminal “Villification”: Australia Court Upholds Conviction, Massive Fine, and Compelled Speech in Transgender Case
29 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of regulation, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
We have followed the evisceration of free speech values in the United Kingdom and other Western nations. Australia has been…
Criminal “Villification”: Australia Court Upholds Conviction, Massive Fine, and Compelled Speech in Transgender Case
The Apples and Oranges Tribunal
28 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economics of education, economics of regulation, gender, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality, property rights Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Suppose that apples sell for more than oranges and Parliament in it’s wisdom decides that, at last, apples and oranges must be compared. Not by shoppers — shoppers are biased, they merely reveal what they are willing to pay — but by a tribunal, which will determine whether apples and oranges are of truly equal…
The Apples and Oranges Tribunal
Goldman’s Demand for “One Case” of Immigration Obstruction Fails Spectacularly When DHS Offers 7,000 in New York Alone
27 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
An over-30-point primary loss would ordinarily produce a degree of introspection and self-reflection in a politician. Indeed, even such a…
Goldman’s Demand for “One Case” of Immigration Obstruction Fails Spectacularly When DHS Offers 7,000 in New York Alone
Goldsmith on consent laws
21 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, law and economics, politics - New Zealand
Paul Goldsmith announced: A re-elected National Government will modernise sexual consent laws to specify there must always be a “yes,” rather than an absence of a “no,” National’s Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says. “National is focused on fixing the basics in law and order, and modernising our consent laws is an important part of that.…
Goldsmith on consent laws
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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