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If politics makes strange bedfellows, defending free speech sends one down some equally odd paths. The First Amendment and laws protecting speech exist for every thing that can be said, but end up being tested at the margins of what society tolerates in the name of free speech. A recent case in Hawaii, involving a car license plate, is a perfect example. Like most states, Hawaii issues specialty/vanity license plates where the owner can chose his own letters or numbers. The only restrictions are that the letters/numbers not be "misleading" or "publicly objectionable." Otherwise pick your combination, pay the fee, and you have your unique license plate, such as LUV YOU. That was the plan of Edward Odquina, who runs a web site named www.fckblm.

I’ve never been blessed enough to vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, but if you’re an illegal alien who’s always dreamed of biking with the Obamas, you might be in luck. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has just sent two planeloads of migrants to the New England paradise. You’d think the residents of Martha’s Vineyard would be thrilled at the opportunity to increase the diversity of the approximately 80 percent white island. Oddly, there have been reports of elderly women in straw hats and kaftans packing up their “no human is illegal” signs and marking their doors with the blood of slaughtered lambs.

More mischief this week from Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor along with his Texas counterpart Greg Abbott have been busing illegal immigrants to blue states that have declared themselves sanctuaries for migrants. Last night, DeSantis escalated this strategy by flying dozens of Venezuelans to the posh and isolated Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard, home to the Obamas. Now, the GOP guvs have kicked it up another notch. Cockburn hears that two buses of immigrants have arrived at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, home to Vice President Kamala Harris. The result has been a scene of chaos on the residence's lawn as migrants disembarked and journalists showed up to film the spectacle.

I first met Ken Starr in 1989. I was a Wall Street Journal editorial writer who was invited to speak at a conference held by the Federalist Society’s chapter at Cornell University. I met two very impressive people that day. One was Leonard Leo, the head of the Cornell Federalist Society. Only twenty-four, it was clear he had a natural genius for organizing, planning and networking. As the later head of the Federalist Society, he turned it into the premier farm team for conservative lawyers who wanted to become judges. In 2020, then-CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin told a group of lawyers that Leo had played a major role in the selection of a majority of the Supreme Court.

Biden throws an inflation party Yesterday’s inflation report was a reality check for the US economy. After a summer of easing price rises, economists expected the August numbers to bring more good news. Instead, the data suggested there remains a long way to go in the fight against inflation. The consumer price index rose year-on-year by 8.3 percent, down from 8.5 percent in July. But core CPI, a measure which excludes volatile energy and food prices, was up 6.3 percent in August over the same time last year, a rise on 5.9 percent in both June and July. As inflation clairvoyant Laurence Summers put in, the report “confirms that the US has a serious inflation problem.

“Abortion distortion” has been a serious problem for decades. And in our post-Dobbs moment, it's grown worse than ever before. This topic somehow manages to transform conservatives into energetic supporters of the kind of powerful government necessary to protect prenatal children, while at the same time making progressives worship at the altar of government staying out of the lives of autonomous individuals. It has caused reputable academic physicians to describe the four-chambered heart of a six-week old prenatal child with Orwellian euphemisms like "cardiac pole vibrations." It has even pushed Republicans to propose significant social programs to support vulnerable women and families — everything from paid family leave to help with child care.

The Queen who captivated America The tributes and messages of condolence issued since the death of Queen Elizabeth II yesterday speak for themselves. In Washington, the statements came flooding in from about as wide an array of American public figures as it is possible to imagine. The president and every living former president shared fond remembrances of their interactions with her. Lawmakers and governors commented on the news. Even state representatives and small-town mayors felt compelled to express their admiration for the woman who was, until yesterday, the world’s longest-serving sitting monarch. Baseball players paused for a moment’s silence before the first pitch. Flowers were laid at the British embassy in Washington.