“Trump administration officials are trying to put a brave face on the stinging rebuke just delivered by the Supreme Court in its ruling that most of the tariffs imposed since April 2025 (the IEEPA tariffs) are illegal. Never one to accept limitations on his power, Trump rushed to impose new tariffs using an obscure clause, Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Section 122 tariffs have a 150-day limit, at which point they expire. So Trump officials are now claiming that they’ll find ways to reconstruct the tariffs using other legal loopholes before the expiration date is reached. I don’t know how well this strategy will actually work. To the extent that it does work, we will be in the grip of zombie tariffs — tariffs that should be dead, because they were clearly imposed illegally, but that somehow keep shambling along.” (02/24/26)
“When the U.S. government makes a representation in federal court, it is not a talking point. It is a commitment. In the landmark tariff litigation decided by the Supreme Court on Friday, that commitment was explicit: to give refunds if President Donald Trump’s tariffs were declared illegal. … At several points along the way, government lawyers assured judges that there would be no ‘harm’ in allowing tariff collection to continue during the appeal process because duties later invalidated could be refunded — with interest. Businesses would be made whole. Indeed, after I argued the case before the Supreme Court on Nov. 5, the government doubled down on that promise in filings in lower court. … Now the Supreme Court has ruled, and the tariffs have been invalidated. Yet Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are suggesting that refunds could take years, entangled in further litigation and administrative delay.” (02/24/26)
“Often derided as worthless or a fast track to a lower income, the humanities promote the kind of critical thinking that’s needed even in an AI world.” (02/24/26)
“For presidents wary of protracted ground wars, airpower can appear to provide decisive action while minimizing American casualties and long-term commitments. Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has bombed Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia and Venezuela, and has kidnapped a country’s leader, at almost no cost to the United States. Time and again, however, modern warfare has demonstrated the limits of this notion.” (02/24/26)
“The US Supreme Court’s rejection of President Donald Trump’s singular policy on tariffs is a reason for some celebration. During the past year, using the so-called ‘shadow docket,’ the Roberts Court had ruled in Trump’s favor on an emergency basis 24 out of 28 times. But the mainstream media, and even much of the progressive media, is misinterpreting the tariff decision as demonstrating the Roberts Court’s independence and judicial neutrality. For example, the New York Times lead article by its chief legal correspondent Adam Lipnick was headlined, ‘The Supreme Court’s Declaration of Independence,’ … But the Roberts Court is not independent. Rather, when there’s a conflict between big corporations and Trump, it will side with the corporations.” (02/24/26)
“The general MAGA reaction that Pretti and Good got what was coming to them is telling about how Republican politics in America has descended into a form of right-wing Leninism. After a man is flat-out murdered in the streets, on his knees, they reply, ‘But hey, look how the victim kicked off a $65 tail light on a police cruiser last week!’ How, even if you feel very strongly about enforcing federal immigration laws, does that even enter into the conversation in a rational world intent on keeping government within its constitutional boundaries? It’s a lot like a woman getting raped and all people on the sidelines afterward can talk about is how she had been caught shoplifting the week before. It’s entirely beside the point.” (02/24/26)
“Americans’ confidence in U.S. colleges and universities remains near historic lows. Although some have suggested that public opinion about higher education may be stabilizing or rising, our latest survey finds little evidence of meaningful recovery.” (02/24/26)
“The Trump era of crude, vulgar might as the sole indicator of worth does not augur well for human rights advocates demanding investigations and prosecutions into the victims of Epstein’s predation. Even before President Donald Trump got the keys to the White House, there was impunity, complicity and permissiveness in the depravities of Club Epstein, a state of affairs tolerated, even encouraged by a ruling class bankrupted and soiled.” (02/24/26)
“Long before the current Iran standoff, America’s interventionist foreign policy had left deep scars. The Iraq War of 2003 – championed by a coalition of neoconservatives and assertive nationalists – killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions, and cost the United States roughly half a trillion dollars. Brookings Institution analysts noted that war planners believed American power could swiftly conquer threats and spread democracy, but their expectations proved disastrously wrong. The war shattered Iraq’s infrastructure, destabilized the region, and contributed to the rise of extremist groups.” (02/24/26)
