Why did Payton Gendron (allegedly, but he live-streamed it, so it’s not like there’s much doubt) murder ten people at a Buffalo, New York grocery store on May 14? The pat, and at least partially correct, answer, is that Gendron subscribes to something called the “Great Replacement” theory. That’s mostly…

On May 10, Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology released a report — “American Dragnet: Data-Driven Deportation in the 21st Century” — which you should find disturbing but shouldn’t find surprising. The part you should find disturbing: “ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has created a surveillance infrastructure that enables…

Nearly three months into the war Ukraine, events up-ended quite a few assumptions by quite a few people. I count myself in that crowd. I didn’t expect Vladimir Putin to order the invasion. When he did, I expected it to go the…

On May 9, The Hill reports, the US Senate passed — with unanimous consent! — a bill to “formally allow the Supreme Court of the United States Police to provide around-the-clock protection to [the justices’] family members, in line with the security some executive and congressional officials get.” While sponsor…

In the wake of a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion which, if it represents a final vote, would overturn Roe v. Wade, pro-choice advocates are marshaling their best — and worst — arguments against removing that ruling’s protections for abortion. As always, I’ll refrain from sharing my own opinions on…

On May 2, Politico hit America with a bombshell scoop: A leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning the last 50 years of federal jurisprudence on abortion, discarding Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and returning the matter to the states. Predictable responses ensued: Outrage from pro-choice activists who…

A year ago, the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was poised to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes. On April 28 the US Food and Drug Administration (supposedly an independent agency, but clearly operating per Joe Biden’s “suggestions”) finally announced its plan to move forward with the ban…

Mere days after my column explaining why Elon Musk shouldn’t buy Twitter, Elon Musk bought Twitter — sort of. His offer’s been accepted, but there’s likely a good deal of red tape to get over before he hands over the cash and the current board hands over the keys. …

On April 22, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill dissolving the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Put that way, it sounds rather routine, but it isn’t. DeSantis called a special session of the legislature just to get this done. …