If you’ve read about the various pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests across American campuses, one thing you’ll notice is a general reluctance to punish demonstrators when they violate university rules. Of course protests are usually fine if they conform to First Amendment principles (though some schools don’t hold those principles), but they’re never fine when they […]
Here’s the comedy bit from Bill Maher’s latest “Real Time”, and it’s called “New Rule: Don’t be a hypocrite.” A few examples: Trump touting electric cars (Teslas) after he appropriated Elon Musk. Republicans buying Tesla cybertrucks after most saying they’d never buy an electric truck The American Academy of Pediatrics reversing its position on getting […]
The Privileges Committee has recommended the following consequences for the MPs who disrupted the House, being These are all sensible recommendations, fitting the circumstances for each MP. The most important thing to understand is this is not punishing MPs for doing a haka. Hakas are often done in the House. I have been there for […]
The New York Times continues to work tirelessly to maintain the narrative that the United States is now a fascist regime. Earlier, the Times demonstrated its view of balanced analysis by running a collection of legal opinions titled “A Road Map to Trump’s Lawless Presidency.” Now, it is featuring three Yale professors fleeing fascism for […]
The Constitution explicitly states that neither the Congress nor any state may pass an “ex post facto Law,” which imposes criminal liability for past actions that weren’t restricted at the time. The Maryland, New York, and Vermont acts all propose to tax companies retroactively for legally producing fossil fuels.
Today, the United States Supreme Court will hear three consolidated cases in Trump v. CASA on the growing use of national or universal injunctions. This is a matter submitted on the “shadow docket” and the underlying cases concern the controversy over “birthright citizenship.” However, the merits of those claims are not at issue. Instead, the […]
We previously discussed the legislation passed by Washington State democrats that requires priests to violate the sanctity of the confessional to report child abuse. I described the law as “blatantly unconstitutional” in eviscerating the right to the free exercise of religion. The state is moving to create an effective system of sacramental snitches and the […]
Here’s the second of Bill Maher’s “New Rules” segments that I haven’t posted. The YouTube caption is “New Rule: Before they can take on Donald Trump, Democrats have to decide which wing of their own party is best to lead them out of the wilderness.” Well, the segment doesn’t even really tackle that question. It […]
Numerous empirical studies show a relationship between a drug’s expected market size and the magnitude of research and development investments. Early studies focused on changes to market size resulting from the demographics of disease burden (Acemoglu and Linn 2004) and policy changes influencing market demand (Finkelstein 2004). These findings have largely been confirmed by more […]
The University of Oregon has long faced controversies over the alleged political bias on its campuses, including celebrating the career of a professor who physically attacked pro-life students as a model of activism. It has been criticized for monitoring off-campus speech and unconstitutionally censoring dissenting faculty. Now, Law Professor Ofer Raban is accusing the Law […]
In a a juxtaposition of events that redefines the meaning of “coincidence,” President Trump announced a new policy for prescription drug pricing this morning, and the the Spring 2025 issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, released three days ago on Friday morning, begins with a four-paper symposium on drug pricing. (Full disclosure: I work…
Roughly a year ago, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel made a splash in the press after she brought charges against anti-Israel protesters at the University of Michigan. The move followed a refusal of liberal local district attorneys to prosecute the cases despite clear criminal conduct. Now, as violent and disruptive protests are again rising on […]
Justice Sonia Sotomayor has previously been criticized for making public comments that some viewed as overly political or partisan, including telling law students to organize in favor of abortion rights. This week, the Justice has triggered another controversy in calling for lawyers to “fight this fight,” presumably against the Trump Administration.
The US economy has emerged from the pandemic growing at a faster pace than the UK and other high-income countries. Simon Pittaway tackles the question of why in “Yanked away: Accounting for the post-pandemic productivity divergence between Britain and America” (Resolution Foundation, April 2025). The average standard of living in any economy, over time, will…
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of conversation fit for the entertainment of rational creatures.”
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