Zach Stock

Appellate lawyer and legislative counsel.

[Nick Gillespie @nickgillespie]

This was the thesis of an op-ed I wrote for @nytimes in...1999. Feels good to be vindicated by @Super70sSports:
'Consider instead the singular wisdom learned from animated sages like Bugs Bunny. The irrepressible, Oscar-winning rabbit and his cartoon cohorts have taught millions of American children precisely the sort of powerful, subversive truths from which adults try to shield them: that smart-alecks have more fun; that mocking authority is often the right thing to do; that tortoises beat hares (especially when tortoises cheat); that the world is often a cruel and desperate place that would just as soon drop an anvil on your head as give you a hand up, and, most important of all, that a sense of humor and resilience is the only way to make it through the years to come.'

Don't know if it would make the cut there today. https://t.co/27fVpwr77c

[Super 70s Sports @Super70sSports]

Kids who watch Looney Tunes cartoons turn into better adults.

[Zach Stock @ZJSLaw]

First, thank you for engaging rationally.

Second, I think you're conflating outreach with identity politics.

There's a difference between persuasion and quotas.

Also I think the suggestion that someone like Justice Jackson is unqualified is exactly why Republicans need outreach. You might disagree with her decisions, but she is absolutely qualified to be on the Court.

I often disagree with Justice Thomas, but I would never say he is unable to perform the functions of his office.

Disagreement is not the same thing as incompetence.

[Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta]

Mike Lee is so close to figuring out why the government shouldn’t be weighing in on religion.

[Grace Yarrow @YarrowGrace]

NEWS: Screwworm has been detected in Texas, USDA confirmed - marking a serious threat to US cattle and other animals

Larvae of the parasite were found in the umbilical cord of a 3 week old calf

Screwworm was eradicated from the US in 1966

[Zachary Cohen @ZcohenCNN]

Another reminder the US military has killed over 200 people in these strikes, yet has still not released footage of at least one instance where they conducted a ‘double-tap’ — prompting allegations of a possible war crime — nor any evidence proving drugs were onboard any of these vessels and/or alleged drugs were headed to the U.S.

[Zach Stock @ZJSLaw]

The most important quote from the piece:

"The research is consistent: What deters crime is not the threat of a long sentence someday, but the near-certainty of being caught now."

Couldn't agree more.

So, if we want less crime, we should spend less time debating ever-longer sentences and more time preventing crime, solving crime, and increasing the likelihood that offenders are caught.

Effective policing and front-end investments are likely to do far more than another round of penalty enhancements.

[Zach Stock @ZJSLaw]

Though he articulates it effectively, it's astonishing this point needs to be made at all.

Classical liberalism is not exactly a hot take.

Yet here we are.

Thank you @SpencerDeery for speaking up.

[Spencer Deery @SpencerDeery]

Is there anyone I won’t invite to vote for Republican candidates and policies? No.

Is there anyone I don’t want setting the Republican agenda or representing the Republican brand? Of course.

I don’t want the Republican agenda set or promoted by people who reject the Constitution, limited government, free-market capitalism, freedom of religion, or the central role of the American family in our success and prosperity.

I also don’t want people who believe those values can only be found in individuals of a certain race or faith, who can’t tell the difference between the Taliban and someone like Dr. Mehmet Oz, or who would want Dr. Oz to feel unwelcome as a conservative because he is also Muslim.

[Charles C. W. Cooke @charlescwcooke]

Written law for the win.

[Zach Stock @ZJSLaw]

Filmed this morning at Fort Sumter where a small U.S. Army garrison stood its post under bombardment rather than abandon its duty.

On Memorial Day, it is worth remembering all who have worn the uniform in defense of the United States—and especially those who gave their lives in that service. 🇺🇸 #MemorialDay @FtSumterNPS

[State Senator Rodney Pol Jr @SenRodneyPol]

The work does not stop here, and I will keep pushing for a criminal justice system that is fair for all. #INForAll

Read more here:

🔗 https://t.co/m3Mx70Ycji

[State Senator Rodney Pol Jr @SenRodneyPol]

This interim, I submitted a request to take a closer look at the unreliable and secret use of incentivized jailhouse informants in our criminal justice system.

[Charles C. W. Cooke @charlescwcooke]

As Trump has explained, tariffs don’t raise prices and are paid by foreigners, which is why [checks notes] suspending or removing them lowers prices and makes things more affordable.

[Steven Pinker @sapinker]

The innumeracy of narrative journalism: Long NYT essay on the fertility decline blames it on uncertainty due to rises in mortality, inequality, unemployment, work vulnerability, poverty, etc., without citing a single datum on how any of these have changed over time, nor even the simplest correlations with fertility. | Why So Few Babies? We Might Have Overlooked the Biggest Reason of All. https://t.co/IlG7Wosrdi

[Econlib @Econlib]

Happy birthday to #DavidHume (1711–1776)! 🎉 Philosopher, skeptic, and master of human nature—his insights on reason, emotion, and experience still shape how we think today. “Reason is… the slave of the passions.” #Philosophy
https://t.co/QCMu0rbkMG

[Indiana Public Defender Council (IPDC) @IndianaDefender]

Important development in the fight against wrongful convictions.

Thank you, @SenRodneyPol, @RepMitchGore, @Sen_GregTaylor, Rep. Matt Pierce, and Sen. Mike Bohacek for your engagement.

Special thanks to Sen. Pol as lead author.

@innocence @NDLawEJC
https://t.co/KPFEYErFv8

[Tim Spears @tspearstv]

I’ve been reporting on the concerns around the use of jailhouse informants. Now, a group of Indiana lawmakers is asking to study the issue.
https://t.co/80TArzxbxL

[Zach Stock @ZJSLaw]

@nkellyIN It's the worst. What's next? FRAHNK-foort?!

[Human Progress @HumanProgress]

Thanks in part to Cesare Beccaria, cruel and unusual punishments are no longer the norm in much of the world, and a fathomless amount of human suffering and injustice has been avoided.