Over the weekend, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted out these images of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, whose regime was toppled in 2011 by a NATO-led operation in which the United States participated.— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio)Though the tweet contains no words, the senator was sending an unmistakable message to Venezuelan President , whose control is slipping amid rising protests both within and without his country. , an ad hoc consortium of a dozen Latin American countries and Canada, does not recognize Maduro as legitimate; about 30 countries (including the United States) have...…Over the weekend, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted out these images of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, whose regime was toppled in 2011 by a NATO-led operation in which the United States participated.— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio)Though the tweet contains no words, the senator was sending an unmistakable message to Venezuelan President , whose control is slipping amid rising protests both within and without his country. , an ad hoc consortium of a dozen Latin American countries and Canada, does not recognize Maduro as legitimate; about 30 countries (including the United States) have...WW…

"A picture is worth a thousand words" is one of the dumbest aphorisms ever coined. Speaking as a former television producer, I'd say a picture takes a thousand words to explain. Take this much-circulated NASA satellite photo showing vast smoke plumes over the Amazon region:Combined with a report from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research that says the agency had detected 39,194 fires in the region, a 77 percent jump up from the same period in 2018, that picture has launched alarmed headlines around the world."Amazon rainforest is burning at an unprecedented rate," CNN. The...…"A picture is worth a thousand words" is one of the dumbest aphorisms ever coined. Speaking as a former television producer, I'd say a picture takes a thousand words to explain. Take this much-circulated NASA satellite photo showing vast smoke plumes over the Amazon region:Combined with a report from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research that says the agency had detected 39,194 fires in the region, a 77 percent jump up from the same period in 2018, that picture has launched alarmed headlines around the world."Amazon rainforest is burning at an unprecedented rate," CNN. The...WW…

Over the past few weeks, at least two major news stories have vied for our attention because they seemingly revealed the deep truth that not only has America always been a racist nation but that things are getting objectively worse because of Donald Trump.The hate-crime attack on Jussie Smollet, we're told, somehow reveals a cancer on the American soul even if the actor engineered it as a . So too does the arrest of the Coast Guard's Lt. Christopher P. Hasson, who according to court documents called himself "" and had drawn up a kill list of "traitors" that included CNN and MSNBC...…Over the past few weeks, at least two major news stories have vied for our attention because they seemingly revealed the deep truth that not only has America always been a racist nation but that things are getting objectively worse because of Donald Trump.The hate-crime attack on Jussie Smollet, we're told, somehow reveals a cancer on the American soul even if the actor engineered it as a . So too does the arrest of the Coast Guard's Lt. Christopher P. Hasson, who according to court documents called himself "" and had drawn up a kill list of "traitors" that included CNN and MSNBC...WW…

The headlines sound pretty bad. "," says The New York Times. "New Senate Intelligence report shows 'extensive' Russia 2016 election interference," Vox.What these and many other fearmongering headlines leave out is that while Russians may have targeted state elections systems in 2016, there's zero evidence that they actually managed to interfere. We have no reason to believe that votes were changed or deleted, that voters were purged from rolls, that voter information was modified. And the assessment that all 50 states were targeted is just a guess—according to the , officials could not...…The headlines sound pretty bad. "," says The New York Times. "New Senate Intelligence report shows 'extensive' Russia 2016 election interference," Vox.What these and many other fearmongering headlines leave out is that while Russians may have targeted state elections systems in 2016, there's zero evidence that they actually managed to interfere. We have no reason to believe that votes were changed or deleted, that voters were purged from rolls, that voter information was modified. And the assessment that all 50 states were targeted is just a guess—according to the , officials could not...WW…

Only half of all Americans now have a positive view of colleges and universities, according to from Pew Research. The number of people who take a negative view has increased from 26 percent in 2012 to 38 percent in 2019.The change largely reflects a growing dissatisfaction on the right with the culture of college campuses. The percentage of Republicans who see value in higher education has collapsed in recent years, from 53 percent in 2012 to just 33 percent in 2019.*According to Pew:Roughly eight-in-ten Republicans (79%) say professors bringing their political and social views into the...…Only half of all Americans now have a positive view of colleges and universities, according to from Pew Research. The number of people who take a negative view has increased from 26 percent in 2012 to 38 percent in 2019.The change largely reflects a growing dissatisfaction on the right with the culture of college campuses. The percentage of Republicans who see value in higher education has collapsed in recent years, from 53 percent in 2012 to just 33 percent in 2019.*According to Pew:Roughly eight-in-ten Republicans (79%) say professors bringing their political and social views into the...WW…

Tonight's features a dozen candidates, but all eyes will be on Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.). Over the past few weeks, she has almost with former Vice President Joe Biden, who can't stop reminding people that he's older than Methuselah (whose eyes seemed less likely to fill with blood and whose dentures fitted more snugly), and shaken loose from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.), whose underscored the Vermont socialist's age (it didn't help that his campaign prevaricated on what exactly happened). None of the lower-polling candidates on stage have anything resembling upward momentum.This is...…Tonight's features a dozen candidates, but all eyes will be on Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.). Over the past few weeks, she has almost with former Vice President Joe Biden, who can't stop reminding people that he's older than Methuselah (whose eyes seemed less likely to fill with blood and whose dentures fitted more snugly), and shaken loose from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.), whose underscored the Vermont socialist's age (it didn't help that his campaign prevaricated on what exactly happened). None of the lower-polling candidates on stage have anything resembling upward momentum.This is...WW…

If only all it took to sweep away intrusive and incompetent governments was a declaration that they're "anarchist jurisdictions." Suffering residents of these communities might then be spared authoritarian laws, high taxes, and unreliable services without needing to move elsewhere, battle authorities, or break the rules. Instead, though, the by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as places "Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction" are overgoverned, if ineptly so.The designations are nothing more than the latest political battle in a country that's rapidly fragmenting into warring...…If only all it took to sweep away intrusive and incompetent governments was a declaration that they're "anarchist jurisdictions." Suffering residents of these communities might then be spared authoritarian laws, high taxes, and unreliable services without needing to move elsewhere, battle authorities, or break the rules. Instead, though, the by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as places "Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction" are overgoverned, if ineptly so.The designations are nothing more than the latest political battle in a country that's rapidly fragmenting into warring...WW…

A Massachusetts pastor, Kristopher Casey, will be punished with a $300 civil fine for convening more than 10 people at his Sunday church service. If he does it again, the fine will increase to $500, and he could face criminal charges, Masslive.com .And where has the press been in the face of what seems, on its face, to be an egregious violation of the First Amendment's protections of peaceable assembly and the free exercise of religion? The newspapers have been basically cheering it on."The constitutional guarantee of civil liberties is not absolute, and its abridgment is not necessarily an...…A Massachusetts pastor, Kristopher Casey, will be punished with a $300 civil fine for convening more than 10 people at his Sunday church service. If he does it again, the fine will increase to $500, and he could face criminal charges, Masslive.com .And where has the press been in the face of what seems, on its face, to be an egregious violation of the First Amendment's protections of peaceable assembly and the free exercise of religion? The newspapers have been basically cheering it on."The constitutional guarantee of civil liberties is not absolute, and its abridgment is not necessarily an...WW…

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independentPlease enjoy the latest edition of , a weekly feature from the Institute for Justice.New on the : arresting a reporter, arresting the interstate flow of alcohol, and arresting political consultants' speech.  for Apple Podcasts.Cities and towns nationwide use their code enforcement powers to treat citizens like ATMs. Such taxation by citation , and it's likely the problem will worsen in the coming months as municipalities find themselves facing budget shortfalls. And, a new IJ report...…Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independentPlease enjoy the latest edition of , a weekly feature from the Institute for Justice.New on the : arresting a reporter, arresting the interstate flow of alcohol, and arresting political consultants' speech.  for Apple Podcasts.Cities and towns nationwide use their code enforcement powers to treat citizens like ATMs. Such taxation by citation , and it's likely the problem will worsen in the coming months as municipalities find themselves facing budget shortfalls. And, a new IJ report...WW…

In their desperation to get back to work, some Americans are taking to the streets to demand that the government end the quarantine. Comedian Patton Oswalt is unsympathetic."Anne Frank spent 2 years hiding in an attic and we've been home for just over a month with Netflix, food delivery & video games and there are people risking viral death by storming state capital buildings & screaming, 'Open Fuddruckers!'" he tweeted on Saturday.This is hardly Oswalt's first display of smug liberal condescension: His denouncing Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann as a "leering,...…In their desperation to get back to work, some Americans are taking to the streets to demand that the government end the quarantine. Comedian Patton Oswalt is unsympathetic."Anne Frank spent 2 years hiding in an attic and we've been home for just over a month with Netflix, food delivery & video games and there are people risking viral death by storming state capital buildings & screaming, 'Open Fuddruckers!'" he tweeted on Saturday.This is hardly Oswalt's first display of smug liberal condescension: His denouncing Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann as a "leering,...WW…