INGERSOLL: What Does ‘Cruel And Unusual’ Actually Mean?

(L/R) Erika Kirk, widow of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, looks on as Anna Zarutska, the mother of Iryna Zarutska, is recognized by US President Donald Trump during the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 24, 2026. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

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Greetings, Dear Reader,

It’s safe to say that I’ve been fully radicalized on justice these last few years. Call it some combination of growing a family and watching leftist justice officials let hardened criminals walk on violent offenses.

It got me to thinking, what does cruel and unusual actually mean?

Recently, people started talking about a missing GOP congressman.

Rep. Tom Kean of NJ had been missing votes and hadn’t been seen in DC for quite some time. The reason people started talking is even as he’s been missing votes, he’s still had time to do his financial disclosures, and in those disclosures, you can see he’s been (insider?) trading (as those in Congress do) the entire time he’s been absent.

Kean is running in a tight........

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