Liberty, Inshallah
Mustafa Akyol, Cato senior fellow, was one of three scholars of Islam whose work was profiled by The Economist (“Thinkers in America Are Debating Islam’s Past and Future,” May 17, 2021). Akyol, whose newly released book Reopening Muslim Minds makes the case for enlightenment, toleration, and liberalism in the Muslim world, was contrasted with some of the other writers who have recently written on the same issues. The book has also drawn coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.

Mare Liberum
Sen. Mike Lee (R‑UT) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R‑CA) have introduced the Open America’s Waters Act, a bill that would repeal the Jones Act and allow all qualified vessels to engage in domestic trade between U.S. ports. In their announcement of the bill, the legislators cited research from Cato’s Project on Jones Act Reform out lining how “the annual cost of the Jones Act is in the tens of billions of dollars.”

Cato Comes Home
As pandemic restrictions are wound down in the nation’s capital, in-person work has resumed at Cato’s building on Massachusetts Avenue, which had been closed for the past year except for essential facilities and support staff. In-person events are also resuming.