Walter Olson
@walterolson.bsky.social
Writer on law etc.; Cato Institute. Election law, Maryland civic stuff, cooking. Blogged at Overlawyered back when. No kings, no tyrants.
Reposted by Walter Olson
How Elon Musk’s Changes to X Made Our Discourse Far Stupider by Dave Weigel talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/how-e... talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/how-e...
How Elon Musk’s Changes to X Made Our Discourse Far Stupider
We don’t know the minute when X started throttling links to news,...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
How Elon Musk’s Changes to X Made Our Discourse Far Stupider by Dave Weigel talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/how-e... talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/how-e...
Pipe dreams: in tones ranging from the gleefully speculative to the casually defamatory, right-wing influencers and lawmakers jumped to promote the notion that a particular named federal employee planted the unsolved Jan. 6 pipe bombs. Things have now begun to deflate. [Will Sommer, @thebulwark.com]
NEW: How the Blaze's supposed scoop about the identity of the January 6th pipe bomb–planter apparently went awry.
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-blaze-...
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-blaze-...
The Blaze’s Pipe-Bomb Bombshell Appears to Bomb
The right-wing outlet claimed to solve the Jan. 6th pipe-bomb mystery. Things quickly looked less certain.
www.thebulwark.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Pipe dreams: in tones ranging from the gleefully speculative to the casually defamatory, right-wing influencers and lawmakers jumped to promote the notion that a particular named federal employee planted the unsolved Jan. 6 pipe bombs. Things have now begun to deflate. [Will Sommer, @thebulwark.com]
Mushroom and spinach soup using turkey stock as a base. The chopped mushrooms are part oyster mushrooms and part button. #foodsky #BlueskySupperClub
November 11, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Mushroom and spinach soup using turkey stock as a base. The chopped mushrooms are part oyster mushrooms and part button. #foodsky #BlueskySupperClub
Reposted by Walter Olson
Meanwhile, people unconstitutionally seized or brutalized by ICE agents can’t sue them because there’s no private right of action for them to do that.
Buried inside the deal to reopen government is a provision that would give Senators private right of action to sue for millions in damages over their phone records being analyzed by Jack Smith's team.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Shutdown Deal Would Let Senators Sue Over Jack Smith Searches
Senators whose phone records were sought by Special Counsel Jack Smith would gain authority to sue for millions in damages under a provision buried in the Senate-advanced deal to reopen the government...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Meanwhile, people unconstitutionally seized or brutalized by ICE agents can’t sue them because there’s no private right of action for them to do that.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Look at this new outrage. To open govt, we're retroactively letting 8 Senators sue for $500K each over having had their J6 phone toll records looked at. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Look at this new outrage. To open govt, we're retroactively letting 8 Senators sue for $500K each over having had their J6 phone toll records looked at. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Reposted by Walter Olson
Supreme Court rejects case seeking to overturn right to same-sex marriage. I was one of many observers who predicted this. Obergfell v. Hodges is highly unlikely to be reversed, and it was never going to happen in this dog of a case: reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Casing Seeking to Overturn Obergefell
This result is unsurprising, and was predicted by most analysts, including myself.
reason.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Supreme Court rejects case seeking to overturn right to same-sex marriage. I was one of many observers who predicted this. Obergfell v. Hodges is highly unlikely to be reversed, and it was never going to happen in this dog of a case: reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Reposted by Walter Olson
A felon freed by Trump in his first term is sentenced again, this time to 27 months after a judge found that he sexually assaulted a nanny, swung an IV pole at a nurse and dodged tolls in his Lamborghini and Ferrari. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/n...
Felon Freed by Trump Is Sentenced Again, This Time to 27 Months
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:00 PM
A felon freed by Trump in his first term is sentenced again, this time to 27 months after a judge found that he sexually assaulted a nanny, swung an IV pole at a nurse and dodged tolls in his Lamborghini and Ferrari. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/n...
Reposted by Walter Olson
Arianna Sofia Veraza and her parents were driving to Sam's Club for milk, eggs and diapers yesterday when they heard helicopters and horns blaring yesterday. They had turned around to leave when a federal agent pepper-sprayed them through a car window.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/c...
Pepper-sprayed Berwyn family rattled after getting caught up in federal blitz
Southwest Side politicians condemned Saturday’s pepper spraying and the federal sweep of Little Village as “state-sponsored terrorism” at a news conference Sunday.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Arianna Sofia Veraza and her parents were driving to Sam's Club for milk, eggs and diapers yesterday when they heard helicopters and horns blaring yesterday. They had turned around to leave when a federal agent pepper-sprayed them through a car window.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/c...
Reposted by Walter Olson
I mean, if you had asked those of us from Latin America, we could have told you that populist disasters most certainly do not imply that the populists get punished by voters...
November 10, 2025 at 4:26 PM
I mean, if you had asked those of us from Latin America, we could have told you that populist disasters most certainly do not imply that the populists get punished by voters...
Told ya, and so did pretty every informed Court-watcher. With so many genuine legal threats afoot, you should tune out the sorts of click panic voices who were hyping the Kim Davis claim.
Supreme Court declines to revisit landmark same-sex marriage precedent | CNN Politics
The Supreme Court on Monday declined an opportunity to overturn its landmark precedent recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, tossing aside an appeal that had roiled LGBTQ advocates ...
www.cnn.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Told ya, and so did pretty every informed Court-watcher. With so many genuine legal threats afoot, you should tune out the sorts of click panic voices who were hyping the Kim Davis claim.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Reposted by Walter Olson
AI chatbots can and do publish content consistent with their editorial agendas. If the First Amendment doesn't protect their editorial decisions, government censors will require *all* chatbots to espouse partisan orthodoxies that entrench incumbents' power
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/b...
Right-Wing Chatbots Turbocharge America’s Political and Cultural Wars
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:07 PM
AI chatbots can and do publish content consistent with their editorial agendas. If the First Amendment doesn't protect their editorial decisions, government censors will require *all* chatbots to espouse partisan orthodoxies that entrench incumbents' power
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/b...
Reposted by Walter Olson
Hell no
YIKES: NSO floats Pegasus spyware used in hypothetical "time of domestic crisis" in 🇺🇸America.
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
November 7, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Hell no
Well-known free-market economist Don Boudreaux: "I once believed, like Milton Friedman, that among the most effective tools for reining in excessive government growth is to 'starve the beast' – that is, to keep tax revenues as low as possible. I no longer believe that this theory... is correct."
“It’s now obvious to me that as long as the government can finance its current expenditures with borrowed funds, a policy of refusing to allow taxes to be raised in order to meet expenditures doesn’t starve the beast; that policy engorges the beast.”
Why ‘Starving the Beast’ Feeds It Instead | The Daily Economy
The old fiscal conservative mantra—that cutting taxes restrains government—has failed the test of time. When spending continues on borrowed funds, it’s not ...
thedailyeconomy.org
November 10, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Well-known free-market economist Don Boudreaux: "I once believed, like Milton Friedman, that among the most effective tools for reining in excessive government growth is to 'starve the beast' – that is, to keep tax revenues as low as possible. I no longer believe that this theory... is correct."
Reposted by Walter Olson
Some further new negative results on minimum wage hikes - Marginal REVOLUTION
Some further new negative results on minimum wage hikes - Marginal REVOLUTION
We study how exposure to scientific research in university laboratories influences students’ pursuit of careers in science. Using administrative data from thousands of research labs linked to student career outcomes and a difference-in-differences design, we show that state minimum wage increases reduce employment of undergraduate research assistants in labs by 7.4%. Undergraduates exposed to these […]
marginalrevolution.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Some further new negative results on minimum wage hikes - Marginal REVOLUTION
Among those who fed viral nonsense about the 2024 photo: Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Mike Lee, and Ryan Fournier of Students for Trump.
One photo, a deluge of threats: Inside the Arizona high school turned upside down by right-wing activists
@tktk.bsky.social www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
@tktk.bsky.social www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
One photo, a deluge of threats: Inside the Arizona high school turned upside down by right-wing activists
A group of math teachers — some of whom were fans of Charlie Kirk — had their lives turned upside down this week over false accusations about a Halloween photo.
www.nbcnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Among those who fed viral nonsense about the 2024 photo: Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Mike Lee, and Ryan Fournier of Students for Trump.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Reposted by Walter Olson
You see these floated with some frequency. Expand West Virginia. Greater Idaho. Break up California. Part of why they never go anywhere is is people underestimate how massively costly and disruptive it would be in terms of uprooting and transplanting all the state institutions and agencies and laws.
State senator invites some Maryland and Virginia counties to join West Virginia
West Virginia state Sen. Chris Rose (R) introduced a resolution Thursday inviting 30 counties in Virginia and Maryland to join his state. In a release Rose posted on Facebook, he called on 27…
thehill.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:04 PM
You see these floated with some frequency. Expand West Virginia. Greater Idaho. Break up California. Part of why they never go anywhere is is people underestimate how massively costly and disruptive it would be in terms of uprooting and transplanting all the state institutions and agencies and laws.
Reposted by Walter Olson
This guy slowly transformed from con law egghead to catturd3 before our eyes. The whole subculture is a conveyor belt to lobotomyville.
November 7, 2025 at 10:33 PM
This guy slowly transformed from con law egghead to catturd3 before our eyes. The whole subculture is a conveyor belt to lobotomyville.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Not ICE. Border Patrol. They’re wearing Border Patrol uniforms with clear Border Patrol patches on them.
There are many videos of ICE officers doing outrageous stuff but a lot of the absolute worst videos are of Border Patrol, who are basically Bovino and Miller’s most aggressive tool right now.
There are many videos of ICE officers doing outrageous stuff but a lot of the absolute worst videos are of Border Patrol, who are basically Bovino and Miller’s most aggressive tool right now.
ICE agents in Chicago violently detain a non verbal autistic man for being “non compliant”
He couldn’t “comply” because of his disability…they don’t care
This is not the first time they’ve gone after a disabled person
They target the most vulnerable because it’s an easy way to meet their quota
He couldn’t “comply” because of his disability…they don’t care
This is not the first time they’ve gone after a disabled person
They target the most vulnerable because it’s an easy way to meet their quota
November 8, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Not ICE. Border Patrol. They’re wearing Border Patrol uniforms with clear Border Patrol patches on them.
There are many videos of ICE officers doing outrageous stuff but a lot of the absolute worst videos are of Border Patrol, who are basically Bovino and Miller’s most aggressive tool right now.
There are many videos of ICE officers doing outrageous stuff but a lot of the absolute worst videos are of Border Patrol, who are basically Bovino and Miller’s most aggressive tool right now.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Oh, well that makes it all better, then.
The @chicagotribune.com has updated its story to clarify that the baby was exposed to pepper spray, not tear gas
Shots fired at immigration agents in Little Village as residents confront Bovino, Border Patrol, authorities say
Community members once again confronted a convoy of Border Patrol agents led by Cmdr. Gregory Bovino as it moved through Chicago’s South Side neighborhoods.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Oh, well that makes it all better, then.
Reposted by Walter Olson
“What Nixon did episodically and covertly, knowing it was illegal or improper, Trump now does routinely and overtly.” — recently retired federal judge
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why I Am Leaving the Federal Bench
A judge explains his reasons for resigning.
www.theatlantic.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:54 PM
“What Nixon did episodically and covertly, knowing it was illegal or improper, Trump now does routinely and overtly.” — recently retired federal judge
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Walter Olson
"Argentina Has Become an Escape for L.G.B.T.Q. Russians Escaping Putin’s Anti-Gay Crackdown" www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/w...
Argentina Has Become an Escape for L.G.B.T.Q. Russians Escaping Putin’s Anti-Gay Crackdown
Argentina has emerged as a surprisingly prominent destination for L.G.B.T.Q. Russians escaping President Vladimir V. Putin’s escalating anti-gay repression.
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:17 PM
"Argentina Has Become an Escape for L.G.B.T.Q. Russians Escaping Putin’s Anti-Gay Crackdown" www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/w...
Reposted by Walter Olson
OMG. The site is literally called the Dunning Kruger Times.
With a “WOW!,” President Trump posts a claim about DOGE and “royalties linked to Obamacare” that originated on a satirical website. That site’s own About section reads: “Everything on this website is fiction… If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.”
November 9, 2025 at 4:37 PM
OMG. The site is literally called the Dunning Kruger Times.
Reposted by Walter Olson
This is who they should be interviewing on the Sunday morning political shows, not the usual talking heads. That would actually be news.
Our reporters interviewed 40 of the men the Trump administration sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador: They described being beaten, sexually assaulted by guards and driven to the brink of suicide. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This is who they should be interviewing on the Sunday morning political shows, not the usual talking heads. That would actually be news.