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.
"From TX to PA to OH, Democrat-backed candidates ran successful campaigns in some of the nation’s largest school systems and in political battlegrounds. They emphasized test scores and bus safety over debates about which bathrooms transgender students use and banning books from school libraries."
In culture war backlash, Democrats sweep school boards
The party recruited and invested in school board races to oust Republicans. It worked.
www.politico.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:45 PM
"From TX to PA to OH, Democrat-backed candidates ran successful campaigns in some of the nation’s largest school systems and in political battlegrounds. They emphasized test scores and bus safety over debates about which bathrooms transgender students use and banning books from school libraries."
Hungary, like Russia, has adopted ambitious policies intended to raise the birth rate, but both efforts have fizzled after early seeming gains [Vanessa Brown Calder, AEI]
Hungary’s Fertility Outcomes Highlight Pro-Natal Policy Limitations
Increasing fertility is an objective for many countries worldwide, but Hungary’s pro-natal policies have received an outsized amount of attention in recent years. Hungary is unique because its pro-nat...
cosm.aei.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Hungary, like Russia, has adopted ambitious policies intended to raise the birth rate, but both efforts have fizzled after early seeming gains [Vanessa Brown Calder, AEI]
Reposted by Walter Olson
“By using this shadowy process, known as third-country removal, the Administration has found a way to sidestep that obligation; what happens to deportees abroad is out of the U.S. government’s hands.”
Disappeared to a Foreign Prison
The Trump Administration is deporting people to countries they have no ties to, where many are being detained indefinitely or forcibly returned to the places they fled. Sarah Stillman reports.
www.newyorker.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
“By using this shadowy process, known as third-country removal, the Administration has found a way to sidestep that obligation; what happens to deportees abroad is out of the U.S. government’s hands.”
The allegations here are wild: "Greene had paid a body modification/scarification artist to deliberately cut the lacerations...Also, the investigation revealed that, two days prior to the alleged attack, the cellphone of Greene’s co-conspirator had been used to search 'zip ties near me.'”
US Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey, press release:
www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/e...
Criminal complaint, United States of America v. Natalie Greene:
www.justice.gov/usao-nj/medi...
www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/e...
Criminal complaint, United States of America v. Natalie Greene:
www.justice.gov/usao-nj/medi...
Ex-Van Drew staffer staged fake attack, writing 'Trump Whore' across her stomach and alleging men held her down and cut her body - New Jersey Globe
A 26-year-old Ocean City woman who claimed she was brutally assaulted because she worked for Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Ocean City) instead orchestrated the
newjerseyglobe.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
The allegations here are wild: "Greene had paid a body modification/scarification artist to deliberately cut the lacerations...Also, the investigation revealed that, two days prior to the alleged attack, the cellphone of Greene’s co-conspirator had been used to search 'zip ties near me.'”
Reposted by Walter Olson
Alex Tabarrok's take on JD Vance's odious claim that illegal immigrants are to blame for the high cost of housing hits the nail on the head. Alex is a libertarian economist. If you're looking for a laugh, check out all the "yes but" comments to this piece.
marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...
marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...
![MARGINALREVOLUTION
=
Illegal Immigrants Didn't Break the Housing Market; Bad Policy Did
by Alex Tabarrok November 17, 2025 at 7:19 am in Economics, Law
In an interview, JD Vance claimed:
[H]ousing is way too expensive....because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens.
I noted on Twitter that this framing reeks of socialist thinking, national socialist to be precise. A demand for the state to designate a privileged class that get special rights to scarce goods. Treating housing as a fixed stock to be allocated to a favored in-group while blaming an out-group for shortages is collectivist politics driven by grievance, not market reasoning. In short, grievance and entitlement, zero-sum thinking and central planning wrapped into one ugly bundle.
That criticism set people off. The first rebuttal was predictable "Ha ha, the economist forgot about supply and demand!"-a miss, because my point wasn't about the mechanics of house-price growth but about Vance's rhetoric: the collectivism and the cheap politics of blaming outsiders. The second rebuttal was that "America belongs to Americans" so of course illegal immigrants shouldn't be allowed to buy homes.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5vkzvjql6hjpaf4nbq3dfagl/bafkreidikopkr7s4facdp4ofpsirnph7263om4b2rze6je4vpvcrbagfum@jpeg)
November 17, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Alex Tabarrok's take on JD Vance's odious claim that illegal immigrants are to blame for the high cost of housing hits the nail on the head. Alex is a libertarian economist. If you're looking for a laugh, check out all the "yes but" comments to this piece.
marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...
marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...
"With ‘affordability’ now fashionable in Washington, the White House is scrambling to rebrand its import taxes as a gift to Americans.... [But] the White House is promising a dividend that is far larger than the revenue it actually collects."
Trump's Plan to Give Americans $2,000 Tariff Dividend Checks Is 'Pure Fiscal Fantasy'
With ‘affordability’ now fashionable in Washington, the White House is scrambling to rebrand its import taxes as a gift to Americans.
www.cato.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:34 PM
"With ‘affordability’ now fashionable in Washington, the White House is scrambling to rebrand its import taxes as a gift to Americans.... [But] the White House is promising a dividend that is far larger than the revenue it actually collects."
"Being hunted by hounds is strangely exhilarating. It is certainly more exciting than a Parkrun."
‘Are they going to eat me alive?’: trail runners become prey in newest form of hunting
Nervous reporter is chased across English countryside by baying bloodhounds, in what could soon be only legal way to hunt with dogs
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:19 PM
"Being hunted by hounds is strangely exhilarating. It is certainly more exciting than a Parkrun."
Reposted by Walter Olson
Witness exposes unusual tactics used to prop up mortgage fraud cases
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
November 24, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Witness exposes unusual tactics used to prop up mortgage fraud cases
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Reposted by Walter Olson
'It's hard to look at legislation like this and imagine that it's actually about anything but punishing women who have abortions.' - @enbrown.bsky.social in @reason.org. And punishment is the point, ofc. But, maybe better than North Dakota... & what a closing image... reason.com/2025/11/24/c...
'Catch kits' for fetal remains are Republicans' latest dystopian plan to punish abortions
GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin and elsewhere are pushing the idea that abortions are a water quality issue.
reason.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:32 PM
'It's hard to look at legislation like this and imagine that it's actually about anything but punishing women who have abortions.' - @enbrown.bsky.social in @reason.org. And punishment is the point, ofc. But, maybe better than North Dakota... & what a closing image... reason.com/2025/11/24/c...
My old friend Paul Bardack recently joined with William Patrick Nichols to create the State and Local Human Rights Center, a D.C.-based group focused on advancing human rights by calling attention to the ways state constitutions can protect those rights.
To Protect Human Rights, Look to State Constitutions
In the face of federal retrenchment in the protection of human rights, state constitutions provide an often overlooked way to protect rights now under assault.
www.americanbar.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:45 AM
My old friend Paul Bardack recently joined with William Patrick Nichols to create the State and Local Human Rights Center, a D.C.-based group focused on advancing human rights by calling attention to the ways state constitutions can protect those rights.
Reposted by Walter Olson
missed this. dems should do it regardless of the motivations. plurality single-winner primaries are dumb www.axios.com/2025/11/24/d...
Scoop: Democrats eye ranked-choice voting for 2028 primaries
It's a tool that drew national attention when it propelled New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to a decisive primary win.
www.axios.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
missed this. dems should do it regardless of the motivations. plurality single-winner primaries are dumb www.axios.com/2025/11/24/d...
Reposted by Walter Olson
Important explainer from @kimwehle.bsky.social on how the disastrous Trump v. U.S. ruling has paved the way for Donald Trump's truly deranged application of his pardon powers.
She even lists things Congress—if it had a spine—could do to curb some of this stuff.
She even lists things Congress—if it had a spine—could do to curb some of this stuff.
Congress Can Toughen Existing Laws to Expose Trump’s Pardon-for-Sale Racket
The Supreme Court’s immunity ruling gave presidents a free pass for corruption, but Congress can still demand transparency
www.theunpopulist.net
November 24, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Important explainer from @kimwehle.bsky.social on how the disastrous Trump v. U.S. ruling has paved the way for Donald Trump's truly deranged application of his pardon powers.
She even lists things Congress—if it had a spine—could do to curb some of this stuff.
She even lists things Congress—if it had a spine—could do to curb some of this stuff.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Again, every elected Democrat needs to put out a video stating exactly what Kelly and the others said. If ever there were a line to draw in the sand, it’s here. The military is not the president’s Praetorian Guard.
“Within the White House, Trump and his lieutenants aren’t planning on letting up…Trump has told some advisers that he wants RICO prosecutions and conspiracy charges leveled against the six Democrats, a source with direct knowledge of the matter tells Zeteo…
zeteo.com/p/how-we-gre...
zeteo.com/p/how-we-gre...
November 24, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Again, every elected Democrat needs to put out a video stating exactly what Kelly and the others said. If ever there were a line to draw in the sand, it’s here. The military is not the president’s Praetorian Guard.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Appealing the dismissal instead of re-indicting is a way to kick the can down the road and avoid a lot of short-term humiliation over the other flaws in the case.
Leavitt: “We believe the attorney in this case, Lindsey Halligan, is not only extremely qualified…but she was in fact legally appointed. And I know the DOJ will be appealing this in very short order.”
November 24, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Appealing the dismissal instead of re-indicting is a way to kick the can down the road and avoid a lot of short-term humiliation over the other flaws in the case.
Reposted by Walter Olson
"It is extraordinary for the Pentagon to directly threaten a sitting member of Congress with investigation. Until Donald Trump’s second presidency, the institution in charge of the US military had usually strived to appear apolitical."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Pentagon investigating US senator over call for troops to refuse illegal orders
Investigation of Mark Kelly after Trump accused Democrats in video of ‘seditious behavior, punishable by death’
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:01 PM
"It is extraordinary for the Pentagon to directly threaten a sitting member of Congress with investigation. Until Donald Trump’s second presidency, the institution in charge of the US military had usually strived to appear apolitical."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Walter Olson
Mere decades after the passing of Maria Montessori, we have the first large-scale RCT results of Montessori preschool. Seems pretty good.
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
November 24, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Mere decades after the passing of Maria Montessori, we have the first large-scale RCT results of Montessori preschool. Seems pretty good.
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Walter Olson
Kavanaugh stop. Smashed the kid’s car windows and arrested him. He told them he was a U.S. citizen. The officer replied “I don’t care.”
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
High school senior, a U.S. citizen, detained by ICE in Oregon
The 17-year-old was held more than five hours Friday in an ICE facility, his brother said.
www.oregonlive.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Kavanaugh stop. Smashed the kid’s car windows and arrested him. He told them he was a U.S. citizen. The officer replied “I don’t care.”
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
Reposted by Walter Olson
The Times identified 120+ instances in which guards were described as having punched, kicked or stomped on inmates, smashed their fingers in cell doors, held their legs apart and struck their genitals with batons, and even waterboarded them — all while they were handcuffed or otherwise restrained.
Restrained, Beaten, Asphyxiated: New York Prison Guards’ Brutality Grows
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
The Times identified 120+ instances in which guards were described as having punched, kicked or stomped on inmates, smashed their fingers in cell doors, held their legs apart and struck their genitals with batons, and even waterboarded them — all while they were handcuffed or otherwise restrained.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Every Democrat in Congress should put out a video saying troops have an obligation to refuse unlawful orders. Make them prosecute all of you. This isn't a close call.
I'd add Republicans too if I thought any of them had the courage to actually cross Trump on this.
I'd add Republicans too if I thought any of them had the courage to actually cross Trump on this.
Hegseth is now threatening to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty in order to court martial him.
November 24, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Every Democrat in Congress should put out a video saying troops have an obligation to refuse unlawful orders. Make them prosecute all of you. This isn't a close call.
I'd add Republicans too if I thought any of them had the courage to actually cross Trump on this.
I'd add Republicans too if I thought any of them had the courage to actually cross Trump on this.
Reposted by Walter Olson
Lots of people are calling out the fact that X is filled with fake MAGA influencers from far away countries, but I wanted to point out that this, not "ideological censorship," is why companies have trust & safety teams that work on stopping inauthentic behavior.
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams at social media platforms working to identify and remove coordinated inauthentic behavior—particularly foreign influence operations. They've insisted that any attempt to study and limit such operations is actually just "censorship" with various forms of cover, whether academic or operational.
www.techdirt.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Lots of people are calling out the fact that X is filled with fake MAGA influencers from far away countries, but I wanted to point out that this, not "ideological censorship," is why companies have trust & safety teams that work on stopping inauthentic behavior.
Reposted by Walter Olson
NEW: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s devotion to state sovereignty has long been central to his political identity.
Yet he has helped President Donald Trump erode states’ authority over elections, policing and deploying the National Guard.
Yet he has helped President Donald Trump erode states’ authority over elections, policing and deploying the National Guard.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Long a Defender of States’ Rights, Embraces Trump’s Push to Expand Presidential Power
Defending Texas sovereignty has been central to Abbott’s political identity. Yet he has helped Trump erode states’ authority over elections, policing and deploying the National Guard.
www.propublica.org
November 24, 2025 at 2:00 PM
NEW: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s devotion to state sovereignty has long been central to his political identity.
Yet he has helped President Donald Trump erode states’ authority over elections, policing and deploying the National Guard.
Yet he has helped President Donald Trump erode states’ authority over elections, policing and deploying the National Guard.
Reposted by Walter Olson
"Trump has put the military in an impossible situation. He’s making its most senior leaders complicit in his unlawful acts, and he’s burdening the consciences of soldiers who serve under his command. " www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | Trump Has Put the Military in an Impossible Situation
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:32 PM
"Trump has put the military in an impossible situation. He’s making its most senior leaders complicit in his unlawful acts, and he’s burdening the consciences of soldiers who serve under his command. " www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
"The Framers intended for juries—composed of ordinary citizens—to adjudicate disputes between citizens and their gov't. Assessing whether a police officer’s use of force was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances" is precisely the sort of thing they had in mind. [@foxmike90.bsky.social]
The Fifth Circuit v. The Framers: Justice in the Lone Star State
Assessing whether a police officer’s use of force was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances is precisely the type of judgment call the Framers tasked jurors to make.
www.cato.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:13 PM
"The Framers intended for juries—composed of ordinary citizens—to adjudicate disputes between citizens and their gov't. Assessing whether a police officer’s use of force was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances" is precisely the sort of thing they had in mind. [@foxmike90.bsky.social]
Reposted by Walter Olson
Trump's secret police vandalize houses and cars, assault citizens, fire potential lethal weapons for the hell of it, and assault children, often as sexual predators... and claim impunity for all of this. CATO proposes the fix. In the meantime it's essential to document all these crimes rigorously.
What Good Is a Right Without a Remedy?
Flagrant civil rights abuses are enabled by a legal scheme that makes it all but impossible to sue federal agents for constitutional violations and shields them with immunity should that barrier ever ...
www.cato.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Trump's secret police vandalize houses and cars, assault citizens, fire potential lethal weapons for the hell of it, and assault children, often as sexual predators... and claim impunity for all of this. CATO proposes the fix. In the meantime it's essential to document all these crimes rigorously.
Reposted by Walter Olson
It's that time of year
November 22, 2025 at 11:54 AM
It's that time of year