Outside the Beltway

A County Clerk in Kentucky is being sued because she thinks she can refuse to do her job and still keep that job.

It was a close vote, but Virginia’s Republican leaders did the smart thing yesterday in picking a primary over a convention in 2016.

Debating the proper role of the judiciary.

Wherein I take the view that as our understanding of language changes, so too does our application of the Constiution.

Good for her.

It could cost you $250 to say “F- Arlington” if you happen to be in Arlington when you say it.

The American people don’t believe that liberty should be sacrificed in the name of security, but their leaders largely don’t care.

So much for freedom of speech.

The Senate passed a bill that renews, and modifies, the Patriot Act

Don’t believe everything you read in the papers.

Many provisions of the Patriot Act lapsed at midnight, but apparently the world hasn’t ended.

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.

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

Rand Paul held the Senate floor for nearly twelve hours yesterday to talk about the PATRIOT Act, but it’s unclear if he accomplished anything.

Fresh off an election victory, British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to propose a series of new measures to crackdown on extremism that raise serious civil liberties concerns.

The Baltimore Police Department will finally be under the Federal microscope. But it took the death of Freddie Gray for it happen.

Largely in reaction to revelations about N,S.A. surveillance, Germany has cut back on its intelligence cooperation with the United States.

A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that the N.S.A.’s data mining program is illegal, but its ruling may not have a very big impact.

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

Rand Paul has been cozying up to social conservatives lately, but he risks alienating the people most likely to support his campaign for the White House.

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

Rand Paul is one of the few Republicans who seems to be evaluating the new policy toward Cuba through something other than an outdated Cold War perspective.

The Supreme Court says that police who have a “reasonable” misunderstanding of the law can still pull you over.

For the fourth time in three years, a Federal Court has ruled that Florida’s law requiring drug tests for welfare recipients is unconstitutional.

Much like the disease itself, Ebola panic seems to have disappeared as the midterm elections become ever more distant in the rear view mirror.

A popular idea that does nothing useful while simultaneously violating the Constitution.

Not surprisingly, a law passed in the wake of the September 11th attacks has been used mostly for things that have nothing to do with terrorism.

Rebranding alone isn’t going to fix what’s causing the GOP to lose ground among a whole host of demographic groups.

Mandatory quarantines are a massive violation of personal liberty. We ought to be careful in how, when, and why we impose them and who they are directed toward.

As usual, politicians and pundits are helping to create a climate of fear and concern about Ebola that is not justified by the facts.

The Supreme Court has issued a stay that will allow changes to Ohio’s early voting law to remain in effect for this year’s election. That was the correct decision.

A recent change by Apple is good news for advocates of privacy and civil liberties in the Internet Age.

A Federal Judge in Ohio has issued a very troubling ruling on that state’s early voting law.

Dan Froomkin says Obama is as bad as Bush, if not worse.

In some sense, justice has prevailed.

Some words from the past, apparently uttered mere hours before the world changed forever.

There’s a new round of allegations about American spying on Germany.

Another area where the law has yet to catch up to technology.

Twenty-five years after his seminal “End of History” article, Francis Fukuyama reflects on its legacy.

Should the police be able to track you without a warrant? One Federal Appeals Court says no.

After two and a half decades, the images of June 4, 1989 resonate with many, unless you happen to live in China.

The tragedy in Santa Barbara will. inevitably, revive the same old gun debate. But can it ever evolve beyond shouting?

People are still going to jail for being unable to pay their fines. And often billed for the priviledge.

Yet another Federal Judge has struck down a state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

If conservatives actually believed what they said they do, they would be much more open to immigrants, and immigration reform.