Reason Alert: Government Power, Banning Menthols, Childhood Independence, and the NFL Draft

Reason Alert Friday, April 30, 2021     Friday Funnies President Biden's plan to pay for spending. By Steve Breen Remy Video: Dogecoin Rap  If you want a friend in Washington, buy a doge.   By Remy  Biden Is Using the Pandemic as an Excuse for Permanent Expansions of Government Power  For Joe Biden, the pandemic has become a catchall justification for a slew of big-government programs that he and the Democratic Party already wanted to pursue.   By Peter Suderman  Beware of Big Presidential Speeches During Times of Crisis  Biden, like LBJ in 1964, Ford in 1975, Reagan in 1981, and Obama in 2009, is ready to make some terraforming asks to a pliant Congress.   By Matt Welch  Biden's 'American Families Plan' Sends the IRS To Snoop on Bank Transactions, Venmo Accounts  The White House says cracking down on tax cheats will generate $700 billion over 10 years to help offset a $1.8 trillion expansion of welfare programs.  By Eric Boehm  The FDA's 'Safety Pause' Predictably Lowered Americans' Confidence in Safety of J&J COVID-19 Vaccine  Who could possibly have known that that would happen?   By Ronald Bailey  The CDC Finally Admits That Vaccinated People Don't Need Masks Outdoors  "There are many situations where fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks."  By Robby Soave  Some States Are Finally Getting Serious About Addressing Police Misconduct  Reforms like the ones recently passed in Maryland and New Mexico offer a better long-term fix than the conviction of one police officer.   By Steven Greenhut  10 Reasons Why the FDA Should Not Ban Menthol Cigarettes  "Such a ban will trigger criminal penalties, which will disproportionately impact people of color, as well as prioritize criminalization over public health and harm reduction."  By Guy Bentley  A Ban on Menthol Cigarettes Will Lead to More Confrontations Between Black People and Police If public health scolds get their way, they will worsen the nation’s overcriminalization problem.   By Jacob Grier  How the NFL and the Players Union Screw Draft Picks Out of Millions  During the draft, they can't even endorse snacks that the league hasn't approved.  By Jason Russell  This School Punished a Cheerleader for an Off-Campus Snapchat. Does That Violate the First Amendment?  The Supreme Court weighs the power of school officials to punish students for off-campus speech. By Damon Root In Oklahoma and Texas, Parents Who Let Their Kids Play Outside Will No Longer Fear Neglect Charges  The Reasonable Childhood Independence bills restore basic freedoms to kids and their families.  By Lenore Skenazy Video — 12 Years to Disaster? How Climate Activists Distort the Evidence  The data behind apocalypse 2030 is based on placing blame, not predicting the future.   By Aaron Brown Pension Reform Trends Plus, analysis on the factors that impact state-level pension reforms and how to better protect public workers from retirement risks.  By Zachary Christensen Should Public Pension Funds Be Investing In Cryptocurrency?  It’s not wise for public pension funds and taxpayers to be exposed to such financial risk.  By Swaroop Bhagavatula    If this email has been forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to Reason's email newsletters, please go here. Donate Reason Foundation 5737 Mesmer Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90230, USA Privacy Policy   Manage Your Preferences Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -