Outside the Beltway

One photograph that has gone viral is standing as a visualization of the Trump Administration’s inhumane asylum policies.

Another poll is out showing that Americans overwhelmingly oppose the President’s decision to ban transgender troops from serving in the military.

Stephanie Grisham, presently a top aide to First Lady Melania Trump, has been named the new White House Press Secretary and Communications Director.

Robert Mueller has agreed to testify before Congress in public. Testimony that is likely to be the big story of the summer.

The Pentagon has been headed by Acting Secretaries for an unprecedented period. Does it really matter?

With the first Democratic debate set to begin tonight, it’s a good time to take a look at the state of the race.

Polls are starting to show that the number of Republicans embarrassed by the President’s rhetoric and behavior is rising. Sorry guys, it’s too late now. You broke it, you bought it.

Senators Warren and Sanders have both proposed plans to forgive student loan debt and make public colleges tuition-free. That’s easier said than done.

Do Uncle Joe’s steady poll numbers tell us anything meaningful about 2020?

Eight months later, the President and his Administration continue to refuse to acknowledge the truth about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Is her professorial skill a liability or an asset?

The Supreme Court has struck down a provision of the Lanham Act barring approval of “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks as unconstitutional.

The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled against a Seattle-area florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding.

There are children being held in what amount to internment camps on the southern border under appallingly bad conditions and the President is more concerned with falsely blaming his predecessor for the problem.

The Democratic Socialist wants to absorb $1.6 trillion of student debt.

Pete Butttigieg has spent the past week dealing with a crisis back in South Bend. How he handles it could have a significant impact on his campaign.

A possible way forward?

Former Congressman Joe Sestak is the 24th Democrat to enter the race for President.

With hours to go before they were set to start. the President delayed the mass deportation raids that were supposed to begin this morning.

A Florida Woman is being charged with felony burglary after breaking into her estranged husband’s apartment to seize his guns and give them to the police.

Trump and Iran.

The Supreme Court ordered a new trial in the case of a Mississippi defendant whose trial was tainted by a prosecutor who routinely struck black jurors from the jury pool.

The costs to the American economy of President Trump’s ill-advised trade war continue to add up.

Despite his claims, President Trump is actually deporting fewer people than were deported under former President Obama.

Just days after being named the next Acting Secretary of Defense, the President is appointing Mark Esper to be full Secretary of Defense.

The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s sex offender registry violates due process protections in the state and Federal Constitutions.

The Supreme Court ruled that a World War One memorial that had been on public grounds for 70 years can stay where it is.

Congress is considering a bill that would establish a commission to examine the issue of reparations for slavery.;

Donald Trump has endorsed a proposal by a Republican Senator to ban flag burning.

As if the situation in the Persian Gulf weren’t already tense enough, the Iranians shot down an American reconnaissance drone late yesterday

Democrats are trying to rein in President Trump. It won’t work.

Not surprisingly, the President’s opening speech of the 2020 campaign was filed with lies.

The Supreme Court rejected an effort by the Virginia House of Delegates to overturn a Federal Court ruling that the state’s district lines constituted gerrymandering by race. But they didn’t rule on the merits of the appeal.

The Justice Department has released a memo attempting to justify the Administration’s refusal to comply with a subpoena for the President;’s tax returns. Their argument is weak to say the least.

President Trump’s opening rally of the 2020 campaign sounded an awful lot like a rally from 2016

Patrick Shanahan is out as nominee to be Secretary of Defense after questions were raised during his background investigation.

As we head toward a potential crisis in the Persian Gulf, the consequences of the President’s lies are coming home to roost.

A new poll finds that public support for abortion rights is increasing, but it also shows growing support for extreme views at both ends of the spectrum.

While the world is largely focused on the much larger trade war with China, the United States is engaged in a similar battle with a nation that ought to be a natural ally.

Tensions are increasing in the Persian Gulf as the Iran war hawks seem to be winning the battle for the President’s support.

The Supreme Court has ruled to keep the long-standing “dual sovereigns” exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause in place.

A new poll finds increasing support for transgender rights, even among Republicans.

Maine has become the eighth state to pass a law allowing terminally ill the choice to bring their lives to a dignified end.

Just fire the pollster.

A new report in The New York Times raises both national security and Constitutional concerns.

Bret Stephens (and others) are overreacting.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg laid out his foreign policy platform in a speech this week. It’s certainly an improvement over the current President.

This time on Venezuela

It’s still way too early to be predictive, but the latest head-to-head matches between the President and the top contenders for the Democratic nomination.

The lineups for the first Democratic debate of the 2020 season are set but some candidates are likely to be unhappy.