'The mental gymnastics were breathtaking at times'

'The Supreme Court just showed us what contempt for expertise looks like'

M. Gessen at The New York Times

Supreme Court justices "probably shouldn't be trying to make a ruling based on medical evidence," says M. Gessen. The "ease with which legislators overrule doctors, and the relatively small amount of attention this overreach received" during the Supreme Court hearing of United States v. Skrmetti, are "symptoms of our times." A "rejection of genuine expertise is both a precondition and a function of autocracy," and there is a "growing intolerance of minorities and, in particular, people who dare to challenge tradition."

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'The real problem at the heart of the Boeing plea deal'

Hui Chen and Todd Haugh at The Washington Post

There is a "morass of misaligned incentives that have weakened the ability" of corporate monitors to "achieve their most critical goal — reducing corporate wrongdoing in the long term," say Hui Chen and Todd Haugh. The "system is so broken that there isn't even a clear standard for judging whether a monitorship has worked," and "there will be no way" to "objectively determine whether Boeing has become more ethical and able to better prevent misconduct."

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'The University of Michigan's shift on DEI is only a start'

National Review editors

The University of Michigan's DEI shun is an "indication that administrators are already hearing the footsteps of Donald Trump," say the National Review's editors. Universities have been "among the most vocal proponents of the divisive DEI ideology, evident in their passionate defenses of racially discriminatory admissions policies." Requiring a "DEI-themed statement for hiring, promotion, tenure, or admission is nothing short of compelled progressive speech," and the "University of Michigan has taken a small step in the right direction."

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'This year, Arab American political power came to the fore'

Rami G. Khouri at Al Jazeera

"One of the major political developments in the United States" is the "success of Arab American political organizing," says Rami G. Khouri. A "new generation of political activists has emerged that has earned representation in unprecedented numbers." It "also put Arab Americans on the electoral map for the first time by launching the Uncommitted movement." Democrats "underestimated the power of this new generation and the intensity of citizen anger, which cost it dearly in the election."

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