California Invents a Crazy New Tort
Jan. 14, 2024 12:06 pm ET Businesses are often sued for selling allegedly faulty products that aren’t actually defective. Last week a California appeals court ruled that businesses can also be sued for failing to develop a product. Behold California’s new tort standard: You should have built that. Some 24,000 patients have sued Gilead Sciences […]
Taiwan’s Victory for Democracy – WSJ
The press is full of fear and trembling after Taiwan’s people on Saturday elected as president the candidate most disliked by Beijing. How about first celebrating the island nation’s demonstration of a robust Chinese democracy? Taiwanese voters elected Vice President Lai Ching-te with 40% of the vote after a rousing three-way campaign. “In the global […]
Biden Strikes the Houthis, at Last
The press is reporting that Thursday’s U.S.-British strikes against the Houthis in Yemen risk escalating the current conflict in the Middle East. That’s the wrong way to think about it. The conflict was already escalating. The question has been whether the U.S. and its allies would respond to Houthi efforts, backed by Iran, to hijack […]
Is There a Constitutional Right to Vagrancy?
Good news for West Coast denizens. The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal challenging a judicial ruling that established a de facto constitutional right to vagrancy. Wouldn’t it be rich if conservative Justices rescue progressive cities from themselves? (City of Grants Pass v. Johnson.) A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of […]
Georgia’s School-Choice Mulligan – WSJ
Georgia has entered the second year of its biennial legislative session, and that means second chances. Namely, lawmakers have an opportunity to pass school-choice legislation that failed last year. A good sign is that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is backing the effort early and with apparent conviction. “I firmly believe we can take an all-of-the-above […]
Jimmy Lai’s Offense: Tweets and Op-eds
One month into Jimmy Lai’s trial, and the national security case against him boils down to this: The publisher posted tweets, supported local democrats and was in touch with human-rights leaders and former U.S. officials who shared his concerns that Hong Kong’s freedoms were being eroded. That’s it. When a man is facing lifetime imprisonment […]
‘Madame de Pompadour’: François Boucher’s Portrait of Power
Madame de Pompadour was a power to be reckoned with during the reign of her lover, the French king Louis XV. Born Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, she rose through the proverbial ranks at the court of Versailles starting in 1745, when the king first ennobled her, and she stayed indispensable to Louis long after the passion […]
Davos Devotees Deindustrialize Europe – WSJ
Political, business and security leaders gather in Davos next week under the mantra of “rebuilding trust.” Key topics include security cooperation, artificial intelligence, energy security and job growth “for a New Era.” Undoubtedly there will also be calls to phase out fossil fuels and aspirations for a hydrogen-based green economy. Amid this grand planning for […]
Notable & Quotable: The White House Culture Has Changed
‘There’s this whole, ‘You’re not the boss of me’ attitude now,’ says James Carville of junior staffers. Source link
The FCC vs. the News in Your Neighborhood
Local broadcasting might have a future if the agency’s ownership rules would get out of the way. Source link