Outside the Beltway

An ugly divorce exposes a gap in our legal structure.

The Senator from Maine once against demonstrates that she shouldn’t be prognosticating about people’s future actions.

The boring moderate beat the neo-Nazi with 58% of the vote.

An extraordinary example shines light on coercive factors that incentivize plea deals

A former Virginia police officer has been found guilty, partly on the testimony of a former colleague.

Some of the other costs that come with exercising a constitutional right

The latest strategic moral panic from the far right

They’re not missing and that points to a systemic issue

The disintegrating military situation is leading to escalating brutality.

Putin is a monster, but he may also be just as irrational as the rest of us.

Republicans competing to see who can be the toughest on crime

But from what? Comparing two stories from Tennessee that show our society’s contradictory impulses when it comes to “protecting the children.”

65 million Americans are fully vaccinated but just 35 percent are boosted.

The flurry of news around the new variant is dizzying.

Politicians controlling lines control voters (instead of voters controlling politicians).

A media critic argues we pay outsized attention to the goings-on at Fox, MSNBC, and CNN.

Yet another COVID-19 strain has emerged.

Some stories worth your time.

A massive investigation into the Capitol riot looks at what came before, during, and after.

The combination of incompetence and a new system have the mayoral race in turmoil.

A tragic story gets more complicated.

Quick takes from the week.

Another case of word choice overriding intent.

We’re all apes. And some are willfully stupid about their public duties.

Even the smartest designers can’t anticipate all the flaws with the rules they write.

The singer now wishes to be referred to as “they.”

49 percent of Americans lean Democratic, compared to 40 for Republicans. Yet a plurality identify as Independent.

Our current forms of collective action on guns have failed us.

Major is a good boy who hardly ever bites anybody.

A rather odd non-ruling during the non-session from America’s highest court.

Historical precedents fall apart when we’re in a truly unprecedented time.

And no, there aren’t always “two sides to every story.”

Yesterday showed that Biden understands the “dignified” part of politics.

President Biden masterfully used the pageantry of the day to shatter the self-asserted Trumpian monopoly on patriotism.

Biden’s America is a place and idea in which the trappings of empire or glory are ephemera in comparison with perennial human relationships—families; friendships; communities; schools; neighbors; partners.

Or, more accurately, the lack thereof.

For those wondering what a textbook coup would look like.

Saruman’s rigid arrogance ultimately made him pathetic. Sound familiar?

Why did Emily Murphy finally do her job?

The press’ abandonment of Bothsiderism is decades overdue.

The Chief of Staff wants to play pretend.

Wherein I revive an old blogging bit…

It turns out, he wasn’t hacked. (Spoiler: They’re never hacked.)

The President is not like other people.

A nuanced take on a complicated set of facts distorted in the public debate.