Police Harassed a Man Holding a 'God Bless the Homeless Vets' Sign. He's Suing.

Police in two Georgia towns—Alpharetta and Blackshear—arrested, searched, and even issued criminal citations against a man for holding a sign intended to raise awareness for homeless veterans. Jeff Gray, a U.S. Army veteran himself, says the police tried to stop him from exercising his First Amendment rights. Now, officials in both cities are facing...

1h

Instant Karma's Gonna Get You

Jennifer Frey, a philosopher at the University of South Carolina, had a very interesting tweet in response to the Ron DeSantis higher education reforms unveiled yesterday. I guess some people think Florida will be in Republican hands forever. I'm gonna go out on a limb and question that. People who cheer on state control of universities might be...

1h

Nikki Haley Is Running for President

It's unofficially official: Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will be announcing later this month that she'll be running for the Republican nomination for president. On February 15, Haley will be making a "special announcement" at the Charleston, South Carolina, Visitor Center, and it's widely reported that it'll be a formal declaration of her...

1h

COVID Stimulus Spending Played 'Sizable Role' in Inflation

Stimulus spending played a "sizable role" in driving inflation to 40-year highs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. "We find that excess inflation is significantly correlated to each country's own domestic stimulus and to various exposures of foreign stimulus," concluded a trio of economists at the St. Louis Federal Reserve in a report published...

4h

National Conservatives Can't Find a Good Excuse for Viktor Orbán's Inflation Disaster

Viktor Orbán is a hero to American national conservatives. So when in January 2022 the Hungarian Prime Minister announced he would supplement price caps on fuel and mortgage rates by mandating that sugar, flour, sunflower oil, chicken breasts, pork legs, and certain milk products be sold to consumers at lower October 2021 prices, some of this anti–free...

5h

Washington, D.C., Banned Bird E-Scooters: 'Arbitrary and Capricious,' Says Company

Bird is one of several electronic scooter companies operating in Washington, D.C. The e-scooters are incredibly convenient for traveling around town; millions of rides are taken each year. But as of January 1, the Bird scooters have all disappeared from city sidewalks. The reason for this has since become clear: The District Department of Transportation...

5h

What Tyre Nichols' Killing Tells Us About Policing: Live With Walter Katz, Nick Gillespie, and Zach Weissmueller

"These incidents are never a one-off," Arnold Ventures' Walter Katz wrote in a Twitter thread following the release of a video showing five Memphis police officers beating Tyre Nichols until he collapsed. Nichols died in the hospital three days later. "They are the extreme culmination of behavior that was complained of and ignored." Join Reason's Nick...

5h

More Cracks in the FTC's Aggressive Antitrust Plans, as Court Refuses To Ban Meta From Buying V.R. Fitness App

Meta's bid to buy the virtual reality (V.R.) company Within Unlimited may proceed, a federal judge says—notwithstanding the objections of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—has been betting big on V.R. with the launch of its "Metaverse." Within Unlimited fits into that plan because of its...

5h

David Lat on Law Student Anonymity

Some very interesting observations and queries, much worth checking out. An excerpt: Should law students be able to protest anonymously? I view school as a period of experimentation and exploration, and one reason I have argued against holding college writings against judicial nominees is because of the chilling effect it would have. Students would...

7h

Gag Order Bans Political Tweeter from Naming Man Who Accused American Conservative Union President of Groping

Plaintiff, a Republican political operative, had sued the ACU president for allegedly groping him: In his time involved with the Republican Party, plaintiff "has served political campaigns and political committees as a field coordinator, field director, grassroots director, and political director, among others." While working for one of these campaigns...

7h