Otto Warmbier and the Cult of the Law
Shortly before I sat down and began writing this piece, I heard the news that Otto Warmbier had passed away. Warmbier, for anyone who’s unaware, was an American college student arrested in North Korea in early 2016 for allegedly stealing a government propaganda poster from a hotel. The legitimacy of the North Korean government’s claim remains a mystery; there...
Russia warns of engaging U.S. led forces in Syria
The facts:
The Russian defense ministry has issued an official warning to U.S. led coalition forces in Syria. The warning, issued this morning states, "Any aircraft, including planes and drones belonging to the international coalition operating west of the River Euphrates, will be tracked by Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as targets." The...
SCOTUS to hear Wisconsin gerrymandering case
The facts:
The Supreme court decided to hear the Wisconsin case of Gill v. Whitford next term. The case pertains to claims that in 2011 the Republican party of Wisconsin developed and used a model to predict voter outcome. Included in the model were spreadsheets and labeling of certain proposed new districts as “assertive” or “aggressive”, detailing how likely that...
Supreme Court removes 71 year old law blocking offensive trademarks
We’re not exactly quick to praise the government, but this article caught my eye, and I’m going to call it a win. The Supreme Court recently struck down a law that bans “offensive’ trademarks. While (as stated in the article posted by the Associated Press) this is a win for the Washington Redskins, I noticed it was also something...