Billy Binion

Contrary to what this administration says, merely having a gun on you is *not* enough to justify deadly force. Claiming otherwise is legally illiterate. Here’s why:

Mom jailed for letting 10-year-old walk alone to town Police handcuffed Brittany Patterson in front of three of her four children for the crime of allowing her youngest son to walk less than a mile away.

This isn't a one-off. Here's another example: This Georgia mom was jailed for letting her 10-year-old walk alone to town. Every sane person wants kids to be safe. But this kind of thing is absurd. reason.com/2024/11/11/m...

She let her 6-year-old ride to the park alone. Georgia called it neglect. Despite a new state law protecting childhood independence, child welfare officials accused these Atlanta parents of neglect—and put their family under surveillance.

These stories never fail to make my jaw drop. A CPS worker ruled this family neglected their son because they...let him ride his scooter a third of a mile away.

They’re now living under a government “safety plan” for behavior that was normal just a few decades ago. reason.com/2026/01/16/s...

A potential silver lining to the news out of Venezuela: more people may finally become aware of how Chávez and Maduro’s socialism—price controls, oil nationalization, attacks on property rights—helped turn one of Latin America’s richest countries into one of its poorest.

There are few things that haunt me more than someone dying this young. Her essay on coming to terms with her mortality was one of the more gorgeous things I’ve read, and a reminder how lucky we are to be here. RIP.

Innocent man sues for over $60,000 after police blew up his business. A court says he's entitled to nothing. Carlos Pena sued Los Angeles for over $60,000 after law enforcement destroyed his printing shop in pursuit of a fugitive who had broken in.

The fugitive police were chasing escaped, by the way.

But this innocent business owner was left with a gutted shop, a bunch of ruined equipment, and an inability to make a real living. reason.com/2025/12/29/i...

So why is this happening? When government takes private property for a public purpose—see: eminent domain—the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment promises “just compensation.” But some judges have ruled there’s an exception to that: when property is taken via “police power.”

I’ve reported on a lot of these stories and they’re always so ridiculous they sound fake. Yet they’re not. Courts have ruled over & over that the government does not owe innocent people a dime after police destroy their business, their home, etc. It defies logic.

Innocent man sues for over $60,000 after police blew up his business. A court says he's entitled to nothing. Carlos Pena sued Los Angeles for over $60,000 after law enforcement destroyed his printing shop in pursuit of a fugitive who had broken in.

A SWAT team threw 30+ grenades into an innocent man’s business while chasing a suspect.

L.A. left him with a $60,000 bill. His livelihood was destroyed.

A federal court says he’s entitled to $0. Whatever your politics, that’s a travesty. reason.com/2025/12/29/i...

Thinking about the time my sister blew up a photo of a guy trolling me on Twitter, framed it, and gave it to me as my Christmas gift. You can’t top it

We're constantly told the Supreme Court is "extreme" and hopelessly divided. Meanwhile, here's a major ruling where 3 conservatives and 3 liberals just benchslapped the Trump admin on a key issue. Reality is often way more interesting than the narrative.

Trump himself has acknowledged—many times—that the U.S. needs immigrants. We benefit when talented, law-abiding people come here & contribute their skills. Others in his admin unfortunately think differently. They need to learn some economics.

My guess is certain people in the Trump admin want to make H-1B visa holders' lives miserable so that they want to leave. It's a terrible & incompetent way to do immigration policy. But it's a great way to drive away high-skilled immigrants who help make this country better.

H-1B workers flew to India to renew U.S. visas. Now they’re stuck. H-1B holders who returned to India this month to renew their visas had consular appointments canceled, stranding them far from their homes and jobs, lawyers said.

This is atrocious. These law-abiding H-1B holders were following the rules to renew their visas. They’re now trapped abroad, separated from their families, and unsure if they’ll be able to work. The U.S. is their home. Cruelty for the sake of it. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Omar Fateh was born in the United States. He is an American. I don’t share his politics, but I tend to think it’s better to challenge him based on his ideas, not his race. This is so gross.

A cartoon character come to life

I used to work in the performing arts. They connect people across differences—including political ones. It’s unsurprising that Trump has decided his ego matters more, but it’s still really disappointing.

Kennedy Center sales have plummeted. When "Parade" was in DC, the show had to downgrade to a smaller theater because so many seats were empty. Trump putting his name on the building is just going to drive more people away from an institution that's supposed to be for everyone.

The saddest part of this story: The arts are supposed to bring people together. They're supposed to be an equalizer. Really disappointing—for both the artists & patrons—that the president has decided to infect that so he can have another vanity project.

Apropos of nothing, *BANGS ON SIGN*

For L.A.'s mayor, a Palisades recovery marked by missteps, reversals and delays Since the Palisades fire, Mayor Karen Bass has outlined recovery strategies that critics say have faltered in execution, affecting confidence in the rebuilding process.

This story is insane. It’s been almost a year since the Palisades fire & the LA City Council “is still debating how much permit relief the city can afford.”

Out of 6,000 homes, construction is underway at fewer than 400 addresses. Devastating for these victims. www.latimes.com/california/s...

Just months ago, several top Republicans argued that nasty rhetoric should not only cost you your job but also potentially land you in prison for inciting violence. Curious to hear their thoughts on this.

Just insane. This man's face & name have already been plastered all over the internet, but police are saying the evidence "now points in a different direction." I can't imagine. A reminder to wait for the facts to come out.

The idea that hiring someone means you’re forced—at gunpoint—to keep them on the payroll forever is absurd. Employment should be based on performance. If you work in customer service and can’t provide customer service, you need to go. Simple as.

Counterpoint: The Cinnabon story shows why strict labor protections are immoral.

If an employee calls a customer the n-word, you should be able to fire them. The idea that the government would stop you is dystopian. No one is entitled to your money.

A very refreshing piece from @wsj.com. Most Somali people want the same things as the rest of us. Watching some of the loudest voices smear them all as villains has been depressing. But it's given me a better understanding of how bigotry takes root. www.wsj.com/opinion/what...

I still can’t get over this story. A Tennessee man spent 37 days in a cage—on *$2 million* bond—for posting a meme, because police said he was trying to “create hysteria.”

This was the meme. I would expect this to happen in China, not the United States. reason.com/2025/10/30/p...

D.C. jury acquits 'sandwich guy' of assaulting federal agent A jury found Sean Dunn, who went viral in August for throwing a Subway sandwich at a Border Patrol officer, not guilty.

Perfect example of why jury trials matter.

The government had to argue—in public—that throwing a sandwich at a man in a bulletproof vest caused “fear of immediate bodily harm.” And the jury called that what it was: overreach. Prosecutors shouldn’t go unchecked. reason.com/2025/11/06/d...

Exclusive: Heritage Reassigns Chief of Staff Following Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes Fallout | National Review The conservative think tank’s executive vice president, Derrick Morgan, has been tapped to replace Ryan Neuhaus as chief of staff.

Heritage’s chief of staff—who was retweeting calls for staffers to leave the foundation for tweeting that “Nazis are bad”—has been demoted. This is what happens when you let Too Online bros run your org. Heritage’s decline really is quite sad. www.nationalreview.com/2025/11/excl...

*BANGS ON SIGN*