'It's time to talk seriously about Iran'

'Many of Iran's proxies would not survive and thrive without their sponsor'

Danielle Pletka in National Review

Since Hamas' "savage assault" on Israel, says Danielle Pletka in National Review, Washington has fretted about the risk that "Iran's proxies" like Hezbollah in Lebanon would widen the Israel-Hamas war. But the danger from Iran is nothing new. Since 1979, "the Islamic Republic and its proxies have murdered thousands of Americans" across the Middle East. No threat "will rein in the ayatollahs." It's time to talk "about how to remove this regime from power."

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'Big wars are inflationary'

Niall Ferguson at Bloomberg

It's premature to declare victory over inflation, says Niall Ferguson at Bloomberg. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman recently declared in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the war against rising prices was over. The Federal Reserve last week decided to "extend its 'pause'" in a campaign to raise interest rates to cool inflation. But if the Israel-Hamas war pushes oil prices higher, as previous Middle East conflicts have, the Fed's "dovish language" will prove "as imprudent as Krugman's tweet."

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'A case that puts the lives of thousands of women in jeopardy'

Ian Ayres and Fredrick Vars in the Los Angeles Times

The Supreme Court has a chance to protect domestic abuse victims, say Ian Ayres and Fredrick Vars in the Los Angeles Times. The justices are hearing a challenge of an appeals court ruling that a federal law barring anyone subject to domestic violence protective orders from possessing a gun is unconstitutional. But "domestic partners killing each other with guns" wasn't a problem in the founders' time. "This is a modern problem." Preserving this law will save lives.

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'Brokers have colluded to keep commissions high'

Megan McArdle in The Washington Post

We may be "witnessing the beginning of the end of real estate commissions as we know them," says Megan McArdle in The Washington Post. A Missouri jury hit the National Association of Realtors and brokers with a $1.8 billion judgment for "colluding" to keep commissions "absurdly high." Currently, sellers pay buyers a percentage of the sales price. That's "obviously a bad idea," because it "aligns their interests more closely with the seller than with their client."

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