An oil tanker loads gas at the Assaluyeh seaport south of Tehran, Iran, in 2006. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters) With Vienna negotiations in their final stages, Iran is on the cusp of achieving a major set of concessions from the weak Biden administration negotiators (so weak, in fact, that some senior negotiators quit).  The prospective deal is unsurprisingly

Florida governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign rally at Pensacola International Airport in Pensacola, Fla., October 23, 2020. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) Ron DeSantis takes on racial gerrymandering. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE F lorida currently faces a rarity: a showdown between Governor Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled legislature, which typically follows the governor’s lead. At stake is

President Joe Biden signs an executive order at the White House in Washington, D.C., February 21, 2022. (The White House/Handout via Reuters) When Congress cedes its constitutional role in foreign affairs, U.S. policy is left to the president — and subject to change every four or eight years. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE I s Vladimir Putin

Lina Khan testifies during her Senate confirmation hearing for FTC commissioner on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., April 21, 2021. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Reuters) Congress must not distract the agency from its core mission by mandating that it enforce dubious prohibitions against our most innovative firms. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE B y all accounts, the Federal

Lorie Smith, owner and founder of 303 Creative. (Courtesy Alliance Defending Freedom) The Lorie Smith case gives SCOTUS a chance to reaffirm that we don’t coerce people to say things — or refrain from saying things — in ways that violate their conscience. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE S imply because a person engages in a commercial

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón speaks at a press conference in Los Angeles, Calif., December 8, 2021. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) A coalition of prosecutors in Los Angeles overwhelmingly support a recall of progressive District Attorney George Gascón, who has come under fire recently for rolling back enforcement of laws against a number

Pedestrians pass the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., October 29, 2001. (Andy Clark/Reuters) At Slate, Mark Joseph Stern tries repeatedly to cast the Supreme Court’s announcement that it will consider the case of 303 Creative v. Elenis as some sort of looming judicial attack on LGBT people. But, because it’s not, he can’t quite

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds speaks during the largely virtual 2020 Republican National Convention broadcast from Washington, D.C., August 25, 2020. (Republican National Convention/Handout via Reuters) Now that Democrats have relented on their ridiculous, self-defeating plan to bar most of Congress from attending Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address on March 1, the speech will

Colorado has been taking the lead in using the law as a sword against people and businesses who disagree with aspects of progressive theology. Maybe the Supreme Court will put an end to that, though, as it has just granted certiorari in an important case, 303 Creative v. Elenis. The plaintiff, Lorie Smith, is represented by

Reading Charlie’s post today on the value of ownership reminded me of Genesis 23. In this chapter, Sarah, Abraham’s wife, dies. After weeping over her death, Abraham enters into a commercial transaction with Ephron the Hittite to buy a parcel of land with a cave where he may bury her — and where others in

BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles during drills held by Southern Military District armed forces at the Kadamovsky range in Rostov Region, Russia, January 27, 2022. (Sergey Pivovarov/Reuters) Russia has ordered troops to the two separatist regions of Ukraine’s Donbas territory to fulfill “peacekeeping functions,” per an official order from the Kremlin, following Russian president Vladimir Putin’s recognition

Russian service members take part in tactical exercises of an assault engineering unit at a training ground in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky in Rostov Region, Russia January 17, 2022. (Sergey Pivovarov/Reuters) Top U.S. officials have promised for months to target Russia with crippling sanctions in the event that Moscow opts for a military assault on Ukraine. But on

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives start to training launches of ballistic missiles as part of the exercise of the strategic deterrence force, in Moscow, Russia February 19, 2022. (Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via Reuters) During his hour-long address today, Russian president Vladimir Putin articulated the historical grievances that purportedly led him to his decision to recognize the

Students walk on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) The Winter 2021/22 issue of the Claremont Review of Books is out now, featuring contributions from, among others . . . me. My essay, “What Academic Freedom Is For,” is on conservatism and academic freedom. It is an attempt to chart

(cyril martin/Getty Images) The push is now on to allow assisted suicide for psychiatric patients. The Journal of Eating Disorders has published a piece urging that psychiatrists be allowed to assist the suicides of patients afflicted with anorexia who want to die rather than continue to struggle against their mental illness. Think about this. Seriously.

Statue of Greek philosopher Socrates (Nice_Media_PRO/iStock/Getty Images) His education in the ‘Great Books’ and in the purpose of the humanities has enabled him to write a valuable and persuasive book. Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation, by Roosevelt Montás (Princeton University Press, 248 pages,

Frederick Douglass, c. 1879 (National Archives/via Wikimedia) We should reject the notion that the Western classical tradition has nothing to offer African Americans. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE B lack History Month is a time to reflect on the African American experience — our culture, struggles, redemption, and victories. But how we approach this history matters, immensely.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks during the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco, Calif., June 1, 2019. (Stephen Lam/Reuters) Responding to the recall of three progressive members from her city’s school board, San Francisco mayor London Breed said the voter backlash shows the panel lost sight of its main priority: educating children. “In this

Security forces try to keep protesters out of the U.S. Capitol during a protest against the certification of the 2020 presidential election results by Congress in Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021. (Stephanie Keith/Reuters) A recent attempted examination of the supposed connection between ‘Christian nationalism’ and January 6 falls short in its analysis. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters following the Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., February 8, 2022. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters) The Democrats’ Senate bill isn’t a real gerrymandering ban, either. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE D emocrats see no problem in pursuing aggressive gerrymanders while also decrying the evils of

Connecticut Army National Guard soldiers on a ruck march at Camp Nett, Niantic, Conn., April 24, 2021. (Sergeant Matthew Lucibello/US Army) The idea is based on a novel legal theory advanced by Biden’s Justice Department that has many problems, and it should be rejected. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE I magine, for a horrifying moment, the spectacle

2020—An Eleventh Circuit panel rules (in Jones v. Governor of Florida) that Florida law that conditions the restoration of a felon’s voting rights on his paying all fines, fees, and restitution imposed as part of his sentence violates that felon’s rights under the Equal Protection Clause if the felon is “genuinely unable to pay those

As Abigail Shrier shows in her post “The Gender Cult Marches On,” it’s very bad. And it’s not just the gender stuff aimed at youngsters, it’s also the continual barrage of statist, pro-BLM, anti-America messaging. These “teachers” don’t really concern themselves with fundamental skills and knowledge. All they want to do is use their influence

In this Brownstone Institute essay, David McGrogan argues that the truckers’ protest in Canada highlights the core conflict of our age: Society versus the State. He writes: Justin Trudeau’s confrontation with the Canadian truckers may be the single most significant event of the Covid pandemic – not because of its eventual outcome, whatever that may

Left: U.S. Attorney John Durham. Right: Michael Sussmann on C-SPAN in 2016. (United States Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut/Wikimedia; Screenshot via C-SPAN) For the special counsel, the prosecution of Democratic lawyer Michael Sussmann in a Washington, D.C., courtroom will not be a home game. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE R oy Cohn, the notorious rogue lawyer and

Service members of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces take part in tactical drills at a training ground in Ukraine, February 18, 2022. (Press Service of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces/Handout via Reuters) Is the State Department fulfilling its legal obligation to protect Americans abroad? NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE A group of Republican senators led by Joni

U.S. Attorney John Durham (United States Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut/Wikimedia) In response to No, Durham Did Not ‘Distance’ Himself from Hillary-Campaign Spying Claims David is right on the money regarding special counsel John Durham’s most recent court submission — which, it should be noted, is a response to a motion by the defense, not a

An assisted-suicide kit. (Stefan Wermuth/Reuters) One of the more paradoxical claims by assisted-suicide promoters is that legalization will reduce “premature” deaths because seriously ill people who might otherwise end it all sooner will instead wait because release is available readily when they need it. I am not saying that never happens, but I have long

Trucks loaded with shipping containers leave the Port of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 17, 2021. (Christinne Muschi/Reuters) Two of America’s biggest trucking companies have made record profits, and they are using that money to invest in new equipment, reports the Wall Street Journal. Old Dominion Freight Line is increasing its capital expenditures by 50

Shouting, personal slurs, and howls of laughter. Anyone who thought the British were a civilized bunch ought to tune in to Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), a ticketed event at the House of Commons (House) that takes place every Wednesday at noon. PMQs is the opportunity for MPs representing constituents around the country to pose questions