Everyone is mostly talking about Gorsuch taking issue with the dissenters in the tariff case, but his swipe at Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson is exquisite. “Not everyone sees it this way. Past critics of the major questions doctrine do not object to its application in this case, and they even join much of today’s principal opinion. But, they insist, they can reach the same result by employing only routine tools of statutory interpretation.” "Start with the critics. In the past, they have criticized the major questions doctrine for two main reasons. The doctrine, they have suggested, is a novelty without basis in law… And, they have argued, the doctrine is rooted in an ‘anti-administrative-state stance’…” "Today, the critics proceed differently. They join a section of the principal opinion that applies the major questions doctrine.” "It is an interesting turn of events.”

1. We've seen both sides flip multiple times even in my lifetime. 2. Once pre-Trump GOP is gone, there is a good chance that the GOP will become a minority party again. 3. The only constant in politics is change.

Since Justice Jackson joined in 2022, the Court has issued signed merits opinions in ~173 cases (OT2022: 58; OT2023: 59; OT2024: 56). Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson agreed (voted identically) in 93-96% of them—roughly 161-166 cases—forming the most cohesive bloc on the Court (e.g., Sotomayor-Jackson: 94% in OT2024; Sotomayor-Kagan: 97% in OT2023). This includes all unanimous decisions (~42% of OT2024) and nearly all 6-3 ideological dissents (9 in OT2024). They aligned as expected for the Court's liberal wing.

For nearly 800 years, the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been in the hands of two prominent Muslim Jerusalemite families. This tradition dates back to Salah ad-Din’s conquest of Jerusalem in 1187, helping preserve the delicate Status Quo and preventing daily access to the Church from becoming a flashpoint among the different Christian custodians. Today, as the great doors undergo renovation, their descendants, Adeeb Joudeh and Wajeed Nuseibeh, still keep that same balance: one safeguards the key, the other opens and closes the Church each day.

“Australian beach culture relies on several social phenomena, all of them fragile: a nonsectarian commons that is freely accessible to everyone, regardless of ethnicity or religion; a culture that permits women to dress scantily without fear of harassment; and a tacit system of unwritten rules that maintain order on the beach, including respect for the authority of lifeguards who have no special legal powers and carry no weapons. None of these are the human default. All, in fact, are historically peculiar. The kind of high-trust society that can maintain a beach culture like Australia’s is a rare and precious thing. We could easily lose it.” My debut column for @WSJFreeEx - on Bondi, Cronulla, and the fragility of Australia. open.substack.com/pub/wsjfre…

Irl people sometimes ask me why we’ve had so many children (7). They are confused because we don’t fit into a religious tradition they associate with large families (Catholic/Mormon). My wife and I both have one sibling. We didn’t have even exposure to large families.

USS Ford is on track for an 11-month deployment, nearly twice as long as normal. Sailors are missing family. Equipment is under strain. The toilets don't work properly. wsj.com/us-news/missed-funer…

Perhaps a fair point—after all they voted to strike down Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness. But then what do you think of Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson? They, of course, voted to uphold Biden’s debt forgiveness.

Lots of trains to watch yesterday.

In 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and did the unthinkable, he freed the Jewish people from captivity. He allowed them to return to their homeland and even funded the rebuilding of their Temple. This is why he is honored as a liberator in history. 🇮🇷🇮🇱

William Marshall has been called by many ‘the best knight that ever lived’! > Held hostage as a child by King Stephen to force his father to surrender a castle > Wounded in his valiant defence of Eleanor of Aquitaine when the treacherous Guy de Lusignan tried to capture her! > Tutor-in-arms and close friend to Henry the Young King, travelling together to participate in tournaments around Europe. > Fulfilled Henry’s vow to go on crusade as a deathbed promise to his deceased young friend. > Claimed to have defeated 500 opponents in tournament. > Unhorsed Richard the Lionheart during a skirmish. > Served on Richard’s regency council when he left on crusade. > When the French invaded and John died, the 70 year old Earl Marshal met the 9 year old Henry III, crowned with his mother’s bracelet, and told him ‘Fair lord, I can tell you sincerely, and may God protect my soul, that I will be yours in good faith and will not neglect you as long as I have the power to do so’ while all around wept, so moving was the scene. > Led the regency of the child-king and led the English against the invading French Prince Louis. > Defeated the French at Lincoln and caused many an English rebel lord on their side to come back over to their rightful king. > On his deathbed fulfilled a vow he made on crusade and joined the knights Templar > Died aged around 72, having stayed loyal to the crown when so many faltered, and rescued the kingdom of England from French invasion.