Writer on law etc.; Cato Institute. Election law, Maryland civic stuff, cooking. Blogged at Overlawyered back when. No kings, no tyrants.
State constitutions can be a valuable legal resource against exclusionary zoning, writes @ilyasomin.bsky.social for @brennancenter.org (based on work done with @joshuabraver.bsky.social)
Using State Constitutions to Combat Exclusionary ZoningThe U.S. Constitution may not provide an immediate roadmap out of the nation’s housing shortage. But state constitutions can help.statecourtreport.orgDOJ’s refusal to prosecute or even investigate ICE abuse is significant, @foxmike90.bsky.social, “a legal policy scholar at @cato.org, told TMD. ‘DOJ is sending [DHS] a powerful message that what you’re doing is not only acceptable, but we are encouraging it.’”
Will Blanche Be Confirmed?Plus: Russia launches deadly attacks across Ukraine, U.S. economic growth slows, and no robot dogs on flights.thedispatch.comA recent bill introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D‑OR) offers hope that Congress may consider reasserting its constitutional role in tariffs, long since unwisely abdicated to the executive branch [@scottlincicome.bsky.social, Clark Packard, and Chad Smitson, @cato.org]
A Good First Step on Tariff ReformWe hope this could be an indication that Congress is starting to take its role more seriously, and as debates over affordability continue to dominate campaigns around the country, we hope tariffs’ rol...www.cato.org"By limiting their demands to language tweaks, Cornyn and Tillis glide over the flagrant fraud that Blanche has perpetrated by presenting the favors for Trump and his family as part of a 'typical' settlement." [Jacob Sullum]
Reason MagazineBy haggling over the details of Donald Trump's flagrantly corrupt IRS "settlement," dissenting Republican senators give a pass to Todd Blanche's unethical and illegal approval of it.
What some would characterize as public nuisance for purposes of litigation, others would characterize as speech [Cory Andrews, WLF, via James Beck]
New WLF Paper on the First Amendment as a Defense to Public NuisanceWe first learned of the Washington Legal Foundations (“WLF”) back in the 1990s, when Bexis collaborated with WLF in pursuing what was then viewed as awww.druganddevicelawblog.com"Aside from wildfire risks, it's worth understanding the labor policy implications of suddenly paying goat herders $240,000 a year."
California's war on goats could worsen the wildfire crisisStandard minimum wage and overtime laws now apply to the state's goat herders, whose animals clear brush and reduce fire danger. The costs are unsustainable.reason.comThat Chinese collection of state voter roll data that Trump portrays as such a big compromise of security was taken so very seriously at the time that the states say authorities never notified them about it.
Ernest Canning“States cast doubt on Trump’s claim that China hacked their voter rolls” electionlawblog.org?p=157686
I submitted this written testimony today for the Maryland General Assembly opposing the constitutional amendment being brought forward (HB 2100) that would overturn court precedent and enable extreme partisan gerrymandering of Maryland’s House map. freestatenotes.wordpress.com/2026/07/31/m...
My testimony on HB 2100, the Maryland gerrymandering billI submitted this written testimony today for the Maryland General Assembly’s consideration on the constitutional amendment being brought forward that would overturn court precedent so as to r…freestatenotes.wordpress.comOrwell got here a long time ago in The Road To Wigan Pier: “There is little evidence to support the idea that bringing supermarkets to neighborhoods that lack them has a measurable effect on what residents eat.”
The New YorkerThe fight against “food deserts” assumes that better options lead to better diets. The evidence is thin. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
"What stands out is how little effort the president put into pretending [the Comey prosecution is not vindictive and meritless] .... Future plots to imprison a critic of the MAGA movement might not be undermined by a loudmouth president who can’t help but give away the scheme."
Jonathan ChaitWATCH: @chkbal.bsky.social webinar on whether the proliferation of “acting” exec branch officials accords with the Constitution and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. With @greggnunziata.bsky.social @ajosephoconnell.bsky.social @thomasberry.bsky.social and Christina Kinane of @ispsyale.bsky.social
The Use and Abuse of the Federal Vacancies Reform ActA distinguished SRL panel discusses the rise of "acting" executive branch officials and whether circumventing Senate confirmation undermines checks and balances.chkbal.substack.comSo glad socialism never came to power in the U.S. or by now the federal government would be taking ownership stakes in private businesses.
Government Ownership Stakes in Companies Becoming Routine Under TrumpThe Commerce Department’s latest announcement that it plans to take equity stakes in six more companies demonstrates that government ownership of businesses is becoming routine under President Trump.www.cato.org"When more than a third of the [House] seats see no competition at all, polarization and gerrymandering can explain some of the problem, but not all," said [Olson]. And none of the other likely explanations "are exactly good signs for democracy." — Eric Boehm, Reason
There are 150 completely uncompetitive House races in this year's midtermsThat's more than one-third of the House. Those districts include more than 84 million Americans, whose input doesn't matter.reason.com