Facts Matter

In what amounts to a major win for Second Amendment advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court just struck down one of the most restrictive state-level gun laws—a law that required gun owners to get express permission to carry their weapons in stores and hotels.

Let's go through the backstory of this law, the unique rationale behind it, as well as what the new ruling means for the country as a whole.

A woman named Carleen Noreus ran a massive diploma mill in South Florida, selling nearly 3,000 fake nursing diplomas for around $25 million over seven years to people who never completed the required training.
The scam, uncovered as part of the larger federal Operation Nightingale, allowed more than 2,200 unqualified "graduates" to pass licensing exams and work as nurses across the country, endangering patients until her recent guilty plea on wire fraud and money laundering charges.

The US Supreme Court just ruled in favor of a criminal defendant in a case that was rather interesting. It presented a simple question: Are prosecutors allowed to force you to sign away your right to appeal, and then slap you with a—potentially—unconstitutional punishment?

Basically, can plea deals be formulated such that you get hit with an unconstitutional penalty, but then you also can’t appeal that penalty?

And the answer is: No. They cannot. Although, as always with these Supreme Court rulings, there is a lot of nuance, so let’s go through the details together.

A 2021 federal law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Section 24220) mandates that all new U.S. passenger vehicles starting in 2027 must include "Advanced Impaired Driving Prevention Technology." These appear to be taking the shape of passive AI systems using infrared cameras, biometric sensors, and behavioral tracking to detect driver impairment and automatically intervene by limiting speed, pulling over, or shutting down the vehicle.

While intended to improve safety, the mandate raises major concerns about constant surveillance, massive data collection shared with insurers and third parties, high rates of false positives, and the erosion of personal freedom in what has long been a symbol of American autonomy.

Let's go through the details together.

So many corporations, wealthy individuals, and middle-class people are leaving California that it’s beginning to affect their tax base in a real way. Let’s go through the details together.