Biden's Nominee to Head the ATF, Who Wants Congress to Ban 'Assault Weapons,' Says He Can't Define Them

President Joe Biden wants Congress to ban "assault weapons," and so does David Chipman, his nominee to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). But neither Biden nor Chipman will say what that term means, and their obfuscation makes it impossible to take their proposal seriously. Chipman, who worked as an ATF special agent...

1h

City Building and Black Power

Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia, by Thomas Healy, Metropolitan Books, 448 pages, $29.99 Floyd McKissick was a high-profile activist of the 1960s civil rights movement, combating Jim Crow through rallies, sit-ins, the Freedom Rides that integrated interstate buses and stations throughout the South, and the Freedom...

12h

Joe Biden and the E.U. Move To Lift Trump's Food Tariffs

During his first presidential visit to Europe, President Joe Biden and his European Union counterparts this week hammered out an important agreement to suspend pointless retaliatory tariffs targeting a host of foods. The Washington Post called this week's agreement, which suspends the tariffs for five years, "a significant step in calming trade relations...

1d

What Free Market Health Care Would Actually Look Like

If you have health insurance but no primary care physician, the process for getting a physical can be a bit complicated. Whether or not you get your health insurance through an employer, you'll probably have to find a practice in your area that is in your network. Then you'll have to find out if it's accepting new patients. You may have to wait months...

1d

New York City's Mayoral Reality Check

New York City on Wednesday night held its final Democratic mayoral debate before the Tuesday ranked-choice primary election that will almost certainly end up determining the eventual successor to term-limited Bill de Blasio in this deep blue metropolis. (Early voting is already underway.) There were eight candidates on stage at 30 Rock, but only four...

2d

Gov. Greg Abbott Will Reportedly Separate Families and Throw Some Undocumented Migrants in Prison

"This disgraceful condition must end," said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2018 as then-President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy inspired widespread backlash. The directive held that every illegal border crossing—a misdemeanor first offense—be prosecuted, which saw thousands of children separated from their parents. Though former President Barack...

2d

PRIME Cuts: Bill Would Slaughter Federal Regs on Small Meat Processors

Lawmakers in the House and the Senate filed joint bipartisan bills last week reintroducing legislation that would decrease federal regulation of meat production. This would decentralize the food industry and make it easier for small local meat producers to compete with larger firms. The Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act is...

2d

It's Time for Television To Get Super Weird for the Summer

Kevin Can Go F**k Himself.  AMC. Sunday, June 20, 9 p.m. Devil May Care. Available now on Peacock. Summertime, and the livin' is … well, weird. Summer replacement shows have ever been thus, for better (the original CBS version of the addled spy show The Prisoner) or worse (Shonda Rimes' ritual disembowelment of Shakespeare, Still Star-Crossed)....

2d

Ohio Considers Ban on Vaccine Requirements in Schools and Private Businesses

Ohio legislation currently under discussion in the state's House of Representatives would prohibit both public and private institutions—including businesses and schools—from denying employment or service to unvaccinated people. The Vaccine Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act was introduced in early May, and 665 individuals in the last month have testified...

2d

Juneteenth Is a Good Holiday. Of Course the Government Is Screwing It Up.

Making Juneteenth a national holiday really ought not to be controversial or complicated. Unfortunately, our political culture is dominated by a collection of incompetents and imbeciles for which nothing can pass without screw-ups and unnecessary outrage. Juneteenth—long celebrated in parts of America's black culture on June 19 but increasingly crossing...

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