Author: Kevin Parker

Short take: A lively panel strolls back into the 1980s, trading nostalgia, odd facts, and fuzzy memories while probing how pop culture and personal recollection shape the decade we think we know. Trivia time: Get ready for the best of the 1980s – or, at least, whatever the panel remembers of the decade. The episode gathers a small group of voices who riff on music, movies, gadgets, and the habit of misremembering detail. They treat the era like a collective attic full of cassette tapes, neon, and mismatched recollections. The conversation opens with music, because the 1980s soundtracks are impossible…

Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced to 20 years in prison under the China-imposed national security law, marking one of the most prominent prosecutions tied to the crackdown on dissent. Jimmy Lai built a reputation as a loud, uncompromising voice for Hong Kong’s democracy movement and a thorn in Beijing’s side. His media outlets became synonymous with pro-democracy coverage and investigative reporting that challenged mainland control. That public profile put him squarely in the crosshairs once the national security law arrived. The sentence — 20 years behind bars —…

On January 27 an immigration enforcement agent shot an individual in Minnesota; the event drew little public attention despite its seriousness, and the muted response from activists, mainstream media, and Democratic circles raises questions about consistency in outrage, law enforcement accountability, and public transparency. The fact pattern is straightforward: federal immigration agents shot someone on January 27, and the story did not explode into headlines or protests the way other cases often do. That silence is notable because the public and political class make clear, selective choices about which incidents deserve outrage. The inconsistency matters for public trust in institutions…

Democratic proposals in Virginia would add new tax brackets that reach 10% for incomes over $1 million and tack on a 3.8% levy tied to investment activity, creating a package that reshapes how high earners and investors would be taxed. Lawmakers in Virginia are pushing measures that target millionaires with steeper rates, proposing new brackets that climb to 10% for those earning more than $1 million. At the same time, the package would add a 3.8% tax on investment activity, folding capital into the broader revenue plan. Those numbers are headline-grabbing and invite a sharper look at effects beyond the…

This article examines a recent moment when Mike Pence reentered public debate to criticize election-integrity advocates, explores how that move landed among conservatives, and considers the broader questions it raises about messaging, trust, and where the party goes from here. Pence felt the need to slither out of political obscurity to finger wag at people who actually want to safeguard elections against noncitizen voters. That line landed hard with many grassroots conservatives who see election integrity as nonnegotiable. It also reopened a debate about who speaks for the party on matters of voter eligibility and ballot security. For years voters…

President Trump launched the Trump Rx website to let patients buy prescription medicines straight from drugmakers, bypassing insurance and middlemen and creating a direct purchasing option for consumers. The new platform opens a direct line between manufacturers and patients, putting price visibility and choice front and center. By allowing purchases without insurance, the site aims to remove layers that often inflate costs and obscure what people really pay for medicine. This is a market-driven approach that treats patients like customers, not claim numbers. Trump Rx promises a simpler path to necessary drugs by cutting out pharmacy benefit managers and other…

This piece looks at how the label “hate” gets used, why calling out meanness matters, and how a niceness-first liberal ethic shapes public life and debate. ‘Hate’ is just another word for meanness, which is the opposite of niceness, which is the guiding ethic of the postmodern liberal mind. That line captures a common frustration on the right, where critics see a pattern of behavior rather than a moral diagnosis. For many conservatives, the word “hate” gets flattened and thrown at ordinary disagreement, and that undercuts honest debate and personal responsibility. When you treat disagreement as moral failure, you change…

Something Wicked forces a serious look at an ideology that treats individual autonomy as an absolute good, even when it crushes the lives of others. It challenges the idea that freedom is meaningful only when it stops at the next person’s nose. This piece argues that a healthy society balances liberty with responsibility and that reckless autonomy corrodes the institutions that protect us all. Too many modern arguments celebrate autonomy without asking what it costs the community. When individual choices harm neighbors, undermine public safety, or erode shared norms, the result is not freedom but social decay. Conservatives believe liberty…

Quick summary: This piece examines how European regulatory standards are spreading beyond their borders, how that affects American platforms and speech, and why conservatives should be skeptical of foreign rulemaking shaping U.S. norms. Start with the clear warning that global platforms often adopt the strictest rules wherever they operate, and that can change what Americans see and say online. The argument is that rules invented elsewhere end up applied here, whether voters asked for them or not. That shift matters because it changes incentives for platforms, publishers, and regular users. Here is the quoted observation, presented exactly as stated: ‘European…

The piece lays out how a Texas law targets the illegal mailing of mifepristone into states that restrict abortion, outlines the state’s enforcement rationale, and describes the legal and practical pushback surrounding efforts to stop cross-border distribution of abortion drugs. The Texas legislature designed the law to combat abortion drug traffickers who illegally mail mifepristone to pro-life states. Lawmakers framed the measure as a response to growing networks that ship abortion drugs across state lines to bypass local restrictions. The language of the statute emphasizes preventing unlawful distribution and protecting state regulatory authority over medical products. Supporters say the law…