'Roads are a scarce good'

'People hate traffic. They also hate this great idea to clear it.'

Megan McArdle at The Washington Post

New York City recently paused its congestion pricing program, and if it "can't be done in Manhattan, it seems safe to say it can't be done anywhere else in America, either," says Megan McArdle. "This is a pity" because "when roads are 'free,' we are forced to fall back on a more costly and inefficient strategy: sitting in traffic." It is "far better to charge a modest price ... until supply and demand are balanced and traffic flows easily."

Read more

'The Acolyte' bastardizes 'Star Wars'

Armond White at National Review

"The Acolyte," a new "Star Wars" series, "proselytizes a changeover from a patriarchal to a matriarchal world system, and that has got fanboys in a tizzy," says Armond White. For some fans it means that George Lucas and "all he once stood for, is as good as dead." The series has an "easy-to-read political allegory" that promotes diversity, and the "latest generation of fans is being persuaded to change their ethical and audience-reception values."

Read more

'This trial was too sad for the right to properly politicize'

Molly Olmstead at Slate

Hunter Biden's conviction "has been met with a surprisingly muted response from the right," says Molly Olmstead. This is because "Republicans won't want to risk looking opposed to gun access," but also because "Hunter Biden's struggle with addiction may have proved too sad and, for so many Americans, too relatable to be politically useful." So despite a "felony conviction for one of their party's greatest villains, Republicans could not figure out a way to celebrate the victory."

Read more

'Population decline isn't the problem. Hungry kids are.'

F.D. Flam at Bloomberg

There is a population boom, but "maybe instead of focusing on the number of children people are having, policymakers should focus on the fact that too many children worldwide aren't getting adequate nutrition, education or medical care," says F.D. Flam. It is "impossible to know all the unintended consequences of trying to engineer the population to grow, or shrink, but there's no downside to taking better care of the children we already have."

Read more