Outside the Beltway

Thirty years ago this week, tragedy struck America’s Space Program.

CNN is taking over a late February Republican debate from NBC News, meaning it will host more Republican debates this election cycle than any other single network.

St. Louis will lose its second NFL team in 28 years as the Rams go home to LA.

The economy is booming. Except where it’s not.

After oral argument today in a high profile case, it appears likely that public employee unions are likely to suffer a major legal defeat later this year.

Donald Trump is out with his first television ad, and it’s about what you’d expect.

The people who believe there is a ‘War On Christmas” tend to be the same ones who hold to the largely false idea that their religious beliefs are under assault due to a “culture war.”

Last night, SpaceX successfully launched a rocket to the edge of space, deployed cargo, and returned to Earth. A huge and potentially revolutionary accomplishment.

There have been many arguments that polling has over-stated Donald Trump’s actual level of support among likely Republican voters, but there’s also a good argument that they are understating it and that Trump may do better when people start voting than many think.

Delaware has become the latest state to liberalize its laws regarding marijuana.

Heading into another Presidential debate, a new poll shows that Republicans are very receptive to Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigration to the U.S.

A divided Supreme Court heard argument today in a case involving affirmative action in college admissions that is before the Court for the second time in two years.

The Director of the F.B.i. told Congress today that the San Bernardino shooters were apparently radicalized much earlier than previously believed.

The Supreme Court has declined to accept an appeal challenging a law barring certain types of so-called ‘assault weapons’ in a Chicago suburb.

As we deal with the fall out from the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, we need remember the years after September 11th, 2001 and avoid holding an entire religion responsible for the actions of fanatics.

For an Oval Office address delivered on a Sunday night, President Obama’s speech last night sounded more like a statement read from the podium in the press room.

The no-fly list is a flawed, arbitrary mess that has kept innocent people from flying for years. Using it to deny people rights recognized by the Constitution is, quite honestly, insane.

Yesterday, cable news networks, and most especially MSNBC, showed their profession at its most pathetic.

Donald Trump just keeps leading in the polls, and Republicans keep arguing that it can’t last.

The probability that the shootings in San Bernardino were at least inspired by ISIS and/or other Jihadist terror networks is increasing.

No, there really haven’t been 355 ‘mass shootings’ since January 1st. Not unless you’re relying on completely unreliable data.

Donald Trump’s speech yesterday at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition was as bizarre as anything else we’ve seen from him.

The suspects in the San Bernardino shootings are dead, but that’s about all we know so far this morning.

Multiple victims, and possibly multiple shooters, reported in San Bernardino, California.

Paradoxically, the children of affluent parents are less happy than those of the poor.

With little actual debate and despite Paul Ryan’s promise of a return to ‘regular order,’ the House has passed a hastily drafted bill in response to the largely fear-based response to Syrian refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Remarks by a Democratic politician in Virginia regarding the Administration’s Syrian refugee program have brought up disturbing reminders of a shameful time in American history.

The Supreme Court is now considering a case that deals with the problem of overly broad civil asset forfeiture laws and a Defendant’s right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment.

A Federal Judge has ruled that the N.S.A. metadata collection program is unconstitutional, but it’s unclear if the ruling will have much of an impact.

Ben Carson and his supporters would have you believe that he is being subjected to unprecedented and unfair scrutiny. That assertion is completely false.

The investigation continues, but the consensus seems to be growing that Metrojet 9268 was taken out by a bomb.

Today, many states and municipalities are having elections that will mostly attract Democrats.

With only a handful of opposition, Paul Ryan was easily elected the 62nd Speaker of the House.

With the voting now seemingly a mere formality, the question becomes what kind of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will become.

Two new polls show that political efforts to enact more stringent gun control at the national level are not likely to succeed.

With the top conservative caucus in Congress acquiescing to his candidacy, Paul Ryan is largely certain to become the next Speaker of the House.

What will likely be the apex of the House Select Committee’s investigation of the Benghazi attack begins and ends today with the testimony of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Public support for marijuana legalization continues to rise. As with the marriage equality movement, it’s obvious where this will end, The only question is how long it will take to get there.

Canada’s Liberal Party ran on a platform that includes nationwide marijuana legalization. With the election won, it seems only a matter of time before Canadians will be able to light up legally.

A pair of new polls confirms that Republican hopes that Donald Trump would fade are failing to come true.

Another Republican Congressman has said that the Select Committee investigating the Benghazi attack is primarily concerned with scoring political points against Hillary Clinton.

California has become the second state to provide for automatic voter registration for all eligible voters when they obtain or renew a driver’s license.

Paul Ryan is getting pressure from all sides to get into the race for Speaker Of The House.

While a brilliant and accomplished man, he’s absolutely clueless about politics and world affairs.

Another political earthquake in Washington as Kevin McCarthy drops out of the race for Speaker, and the House GOP doesn’t seem to know which way to go.

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide, making California the fifth state to legalize the practice and possibly giving real political momentum to the Right To Die movement.

The marriage equality issue is resolved, but that doesn’t mean the Supreme Court won’t have a lot of high profile cases on its docket over the next eight months.

Vice-President Biden will apparently not be at the first Democratic debate, which may be yet another sign that he’s not running for President.

A bizarre hatchet job on Carly Fiorina’s autobiography.