Outside the Beltway

Americans have wildly distorted understandings of the society around them.

Why do most people think success is mostly due to merit?

What happened Tuesday? And what does it tell us about 2016?

The results of the 2014 midterms should teach us some lessons about how to handle and evaluate polling.

Reports from the Justice Department seem to be laying the groundwork for more disappointment for those hoping for charges against Officer Darren Wilson.

Another pre-election stay ruling from the Supreme Court.

Two prominent Republican groups point out the blindingly obvious.

A major voting rights ruling out of North Carolina.

Later today, President Obama will sign an Executive Order barring Federal Contractors from discrimination based on sexual orientation. But that’s not even the most controversial part for some conservatives.

A piece at Foreign Policy provides a chance to give some thought to institutions.

The Texas GOP wants to “pray away the gay.”

Trying to make some sense out of a week of outrage.

A 13 month string of legal victories for marriage equality reaches Oregon.

Shutting down rational debate one meme at a time.

Innocent men have been put to death on the orders of the state.

A legal setback for Voter ID laws in Wisconsin.

Continuing the discussion from earlier this week on hate crimes.

Does it really matter why Fraizer Glenn Miller murdered three people in Kansas?

I’m going to put in a good word for my son Josh’s new album “Shame of Tones,” a parody compilation based on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

Another day, another delay

Most peer-reviewed research is crap.

Let’s think about how the media operates.

The opponents of the temporary deal reached in Geneva have been making some ridiculous historical analogies.

A story that has turned into a partisan kickball and some bad journalism have resulted in a celebrated news program getting considerable egg on its face.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed the Senate yesterday but it’s unlikely to go much further.

Wendy Lower documents the half-million women who helped Hitler carry out the Holocaust.

Should states have the right to ban affirmative action? The Supreme Court will decide that this term.

The argument that the Roberts Court has been overly “activist” does not hold up to examination.

Can differences in media coverage of two unrelated filibusters be explained solely by media bias?

The nation’s second largest broadcaster is balking at the prices to keep Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on its air.

President Obama has once again weighed in on the Trayvon Martin case in a personal manner.

Evidence that George Zimmerman acted out of racial bias is completely lacking, which means the Federal Government should stay out of this case entirely.

Chief Justice Roberts is the only person who gets to say who sits on the FISA Court.

Two thirds of us are overweight but we still think fat people are pigs.

A major Constitutional ruling from the Supreme Court.

Thanks to those new electronic cigarettes, ads for cigarettes are back on television for the first time since the Nixon Administration.

Sometimes it seems like all John McCain does is appear on Sunday morning news shows. The problem goes deeper than that, though.

Have we all been fooled by a 75 year old marketing campaign?

The TIGTA audit reveals the BOLO “Tea Party” list was right 81% of the time. But does that change anything?

Tax analyst Martin A. Sullivan finds that 1/3rd of “potentially political applications” approved by the IRS were from non-conservative groups.

Just about all of the substantive information in the excerpts was already revealed in the TIGTA audit.

When does politics become the “primary activity” of a 501(c)4?

It’s time to take a look at the pre-trial issues in what is likely to be the trial of the Summer of 2013.

A case in Florida raises serious questions about the application of our sex offender laws.

Inside the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration investigation into the IRS scandal.