Outside the Beltway

A 1980 debate between Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush shows a different GOP.

The unqualified hack who led OPM while China stole 21 million sensitive personnel files has finally resigned.

Taxes on wine, beer, and spirits vary wildly from state-to-state and even within each state.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a major case about public employee unions that could go a long way toward restraining their power.

The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to wade back into the thorny issue of race and higher education.

SCOTUS has upheld the use of election commissions to draw Congressional district lines.

If you’re under 21 in Hawaii, you’re still technically an adult but you can’t buy tobacco.

A proposed California law would require all students who attend public school to be vaccinated, with limited exemptions for medical reasons.

The latest Census data show a changing America.

An important tenet of the internet is “don’t read the comments.” Well, I have violated that rule of late–which means more musings on the symbols of the CSA.

The Supreme Court ruled that police are not entitled to access to a hotel registry without a warrant.

The Supreme Court has struck down a program that forced farmers to turn over a portion of their crop to the government without compensation.

The Supreme Court ruled that states don’t have to grant license plates that display the Confederate flag. Their decision has the potential to seriously harm the First Amendment.

A new Michigan law allows religious-affiliated adoption agencies to turn away parents for religious reasons, and it seems fairly obvious what the target is in this case.

House Democrats defied President Obama on an important trade deal today, thus arguably marking the official beginning of his lame duck status.

So much for freedom of speech.

In a setback for the gun rights movement, the Supreme Court has let stand a San Francisco law that places tough restrictions on handgun ownership.

The highest court in New York state has ruled that an undocumented immigrant brought to the U.S. as a child can be admitted to practice law.

A thirty-seven year long drought is over.

Rand Paul Is at a distinct disadvantage compared to his fellow Republican candidates for President.

Starting tomorrow, we can expect to see the Supreme Court hand down decisions in some of its most high profile cases. Here’s a preview.

The Senate returns tomorrow to try to pass an extension of the PATRIOT Act before it expires, but it may not be able to do so.

A new poll shows that nearly seven in ten Americans believe that people who are terminally ill should be allowed to end their lives with the help of a doctor.

Voters in Ireland have overwhelmingly approved a referendum legalizing same-sex marriage.

The Senate went home last night without passing a bill to renew the PATRIOT Act, which expires at the end of the month.

Los Angeles became the latest major city to increase its minimum wage. It’s a risky bet that is likely to do more harm than good.

A Second Amendment victory in the District of Columbia,

The House has passed a bill that would place real restrictions on the National Security Agency’s data mining program. Now, it moves to the Senate.

Congressman Darrell Issa says that America’s poor are generally better off than the poor in the rest of the world. While he’s correct, he’s also incredibly tone deaf.

House Republicans are set to vote on a bill banning abortion in almost all cases after twenty weeks. What they can’t do is explain where the Constitution gives Congress the power to do this.

Once again, only six or seven states are likely to matter.

So far at least, there’s little evidence in the polls that Hillary Clinton has been hurt by the news reports about the financial dealings of the Clinton Foundation.

There must be something odd in the water in the Lone Star State, because a bizarre conspiracy theory seems to have taken root there.

A sharply divided Court heard argument today on an issue that has sharply divided the nation.

Chinese analysts are telling their American counterparts that North Korea’s nuclear arsenal is far more sophisticated than previously believed.

Former Hewlett Packard CEO, and failed Senate candidate, Carly Fiorina will be running for President for some reason.

Yet another study has found no link between autism and childhood vaccines. However, that’s unlikely to mean the end of the anti-vaccination movement.

Pundits and political scientists agree that, if the 2016 presidential election were today, we’d have a much better idea who would win.

The Disneyland measles outbreak wasn’t enough to overcome anti-vaccine forces.

Australia has an interesting new idea about how to encourage parents to vaccinate their children.

A federal judge has ordered the people of California to foot the $100,000 bill for sexual reassignment surgery for someone serving a life sentence for murder.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of three students disciplined for wearing American flag shirts on Cinco de Mayo

Carly Fiorina seems to be inching close to a Presidential run for some reason.

Modern Singapore’s founder passed away at age 91 earlier this week.