Paul Sherman
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paulmsherman.bsky.social
Paul Sherman
@paulmsherman.bsky.social
Senior Attorney @ifj.bsky.social (opinions are my own). I post about the First Amendment, constitutional law, and chess. I occasionally blog about how to study classic chess games at https://thinkinglikeachessplayer.substack.com/
A lot of people find intermediate scrutiny mysterious, but it’s just three consubstantial First Amendment doctrines that are fully distinct yet indivisibly one.
June 28, 2025 at 12:06 AM
This is the most personal thing I’ve ever written. It’s about how I used ChatGPT to work through something I’d carried for 25 years, and it took about 30 minutes. open.substack.com/pub/paulmshe...
The AI Will See You Now
How 30 minutes with ChatGPT changed my life
open.substack.com
April 27, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by Paul Sherman
Essential listening for animal advocates and legal professionals: @marisul.bsky.social dissects Florida's cultivated meat ban with @paulmsherman.bsky.social . A detailed examination of how constitutional law can advance animal protection through food innovation. ourhenhouse.org/alp115
December 26, 2024 at 1:31 AM
My kid asked me why they were called polka dots, and this is legitimately crazy.
December 22, 2024 at 9:01 PM
Make the knight corner-y, game’s getting ornery.
December 8, 2024 at 2:51 PM
“Great” in the sense of “as a person.” I’m just okay at chess.
Lunch at @ij.org.

Learning intermediate chess strategy with the great @paulmsherman.bsky.social.
December 7, 2024 at 12:06 AM
Finishing up a 50+ page legal brief and thinking about the time I dropped an undergraduate class because it had a 15-page term paper.
December 6, 2024 at 11:11 PM
We offered! The Articles of Confederation gave Canada a free admission, but they evidently declined.
December 4, 2024 at 12:01 PM
I haven’t reviewed the game yet, but what’s the view on Gukesh playing the exchange variation? Is he scared of Ding’s French prep? Seems risky to play a drawish line with White when Ding has an extra game with White.
November 30, 2024 at 1:04 PM
John Stossel did a segment on Florida's ban on cultivated meat. @ij.org is challenging the law in court. It's remarkable how candid the cattlemen's lobbyist is that the law is about protecting ranchers, not consumers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kse...
States Ban Lab-Grown Meat: How that limits our freedom and harms animals.
YouTube video by John Stossel
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2024 at 5:19 PM
I'm guessing the odds are about 99% that this guy watched this morning's game. But I'm proud to say that I played just like Ding.
November 27, 2024 at 2:52 PM
All I want is for my pieces to coordinate as well as Ding Liren’s Horsey Hook.
November 26, 2024 at 12:32 PM
Yesterday the Supreme Court received a whopping 27 amicus briefs supporting Texas’s age-verification law for online pornography. I think it speaks to the weakness of the government’s argument that so few address the actual legal issue in the case. www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
Search
www.supremecourt.gov
November 23, 2024 at 3:09 PM
Excellent example of the Shankland Question: What happens if I do it anyway? From 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners, #777.
November 23, 2024 at 1:56 PM
I’ve just learned that the games in the upcoming chess world championship start at 4:00 a.m. ET. Gonna be a long tournament for Americans who want to avoid spoilers
November 17, 2024 at 7:26 PM
from time to time, IJ hosts “master classes,” where we can teach our colleagues something we know a lot about unrelated to work. Next month I’m doing one on chess and will be going over the Opera Game move by move.
My partner (in life and crime) returned from Norway with this shirt for me. Excuse the wrinkles and my photography 😝 #chess #chesspunks
November 17, 2024 at 1:14 PM
I strongly encourage everyone to go into settings, my saved feeds, and then unpin “discover.” Like Twitter’s “For You” feed, it thrives on polarization and collective outrage. That’s unhealthy even if you agree with the sentiments. Use this platform in healthier ways than the last one.
November 16, 2024 at 6:44 PM
Since nobody actually follows me here, maybe I'll start using swears.
September 28, 2023 at 2:07 PM