Outside the Beltway

A legal setback for Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys.

After initially signaling support for a bill banning ‘bump stocks,’ Republicans in Congress now appear to be hoping someone else will act for them.

Just three weeks after their home was hit by a devastating storm, Donald Trump is attacking Puerto Ricans for not recovering from the storm sooner.

Another big change for the Boy Scouts.

Donald Trump is continuing to up the ante in his rhetorical war against one of America’s most fundamental freedoms.

New polling shows increased support for gun control measures in the wake of Las Vegas, but it’s not likely to last and it won’t lead to any significant action by Congress.

Donald Trump continues to be as astoundingly ignorant about the most powerful weapons the U.S. military possesses as he was as a candidate.

At least for now, Republicans seem to be giving up on repealing and replacing the PPACA. That’s not going to make the base happy.

Former Trump aide Steve Bannon is declaring war on Republicans in the Senate.

Vice-President Pence left an Indianapolis Colts game early in what was obviously a cynical pre-planned publicity stunt.

A complicated concurrence to Steven Taylor’s recent postings.

More thoughts related to Gill v. Whitford and the problem of extreme gerrymandering.

And even moreso when they are consciously created by the winner.

Reversing an Obama Era position, the Justice Department has rescinded a legal interpretation that purported to apply previously adopted civil rights laws to transgender individuals.

In other news, this week we learned that AIM still exists.

The District of Columbia has decided not to risk an appeal of a lower court ruling striking down its restrictive concealed-carry law.

Reports are indicating that President Trump will decertify the nuclear weapons deal with Iran. This would be a foolish and potentially dangerous mistake.

A very weak jobs report thanks mostly to the impact of two Category 5 hurricanes.

The nation’s only competitive Governor’s this year appears to be going in favor of the Democratic candidate.

After Sunday’s referendum, the government of Catalonia says it may declare independence from Spain as early as Monday. However, it’s likely to be a completely meaningless act.

Don’t hold your breath, but the Las Vegas shooting may actually prompt Congress to do something.

Some interesting statistics.

Tensions continue to rise between the White House and Foggy Bottom.

The Las Vegas shooting provides a good opportunity to enact a common sense gun control law that even Second Amendment advocates agree is called for.

The Supreme Court appears split on the question of whether or not partisan Gerrymandering is unconstitutional.

Donald Trump is undermining his own Secretary of State’s efforts on North Korea, and he doesn’t seem to care.

Stephen Paddock’s crime was clearly terrorizing, and will impact the lives of survivors, families, first responders in many ways for a long time. Based on the currently available evidence, though, the Las Vegas shooting was not “terrorism.”

The band leader of the Heartbreakers and the Traveling Wilburys is gone.

Catalonia voted overwhelmingly for independence from Spain, but it’s not at all clear that the vote will amount to anything.

A gunman opened fire on a crowd of over 20,000 people in Las Vegas, and the results have been predictably horrific.

Previewing the next term of the Supreme Court, which starts today.

The U.S is joining the rest of the world in refusing to recognize the independence referendum conducted by Iraqi Kurds.

Catalonia’s independence referendum is one day away, and nobody seems to know what to expect.

A sign of hope that Alabama voters could end up rejecting the far-right theocratic politics of Roy Moore? Possibly.

While Puerto Rico suffers, President Trump is spending the weekend at his New Jersey golf resort attacking people on the ground who are actually doing something.

Trump loses his HHS Secretary amid a growing scandal involving the use of private and government jets by Cabinet officials.

In its upcoming term, the Supreme Court will hear a case that is likely to have a significant impact on the powers of public-sector unions.

A Federal Appeals Court has declined to review a panel decision striking down the District of Columbia’s restrictive concealed-carry law.