Outside the Beltway

Liberty may be natural to the individual, but political liberty remains an uncommon achievement.

Perhaps it’s just as well.

Three members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been fired.

It “literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”

First there was the Department of Redundancy Department. Now for something completely different.

Trump Bibles: made in China.

Are we betraying the Founders?

America survived a civil war and the turmoil of the 1960s. Can we rebound again?

Because of course she is.

The implications of modes of interpretation.

The Nation is unusually divided and melancholy on its birthday.

Our ostensible ally is seeking to rebrand itself.

If this is the best they have, they don’t have a lot

Conservatives have lost it one generation at a time.

You know, some light weekend thoughts.

A parting shot from the Trump administration.

The crowd for DC’s fireworks celebration was small but weird.

In this case, Rich Lowry’s.

Ideas, not tanks.

A convergence of OTB discussions.

The ex-athlete has picked a bizarre target.

Whether he knows it or not, Donald Trump is assisting the Russian leader in his goal of undermining the foundational institutions of democracy and freedom.

The latest in the wars against liberalism.

In a significant setback for challenges to partisan gerrymandering, the Supreme Court has effectively ruled that Federal Courts do not have jurisdiction to hear challenges to redistricting based on partisan motivations.

A Federal Court in Michigan has found several of that state’s Congressional and state legislative districts to have been subject to extreme partisan gerrymandering.

The Vermont socialist likes to invent rights that don’t exist.

The morning show co-hosts tied the knot at a secret ceremony at the National Archives.

In addition to being mandated by the Constitution, birthright citizenship goes to the core of what it means to be an American.

The second installment of a seemingly forgotten series.

The Republican Party’s nominee for Senator in Virginia really is as bad as you’ve heard, probably worse.

Yes, it’s still okay to celebrate America.

And a little Electoral College for good measure.

Another win for forces fighting partisan Gerrymandering.

Some thoughts about why the president’s remarks on immigration are so problematic.

A Federal Court in North Carolina has issued a stinging ruling against the partisan gerrymandering undertaken by the Republican legislature in that state.

Two months after a referendum that supported independence from Spain, Catalan voters head to the polls for a new round of parliamentary elections that remain up in the air.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a second case dealing with political Gerrymandering.

Things are heating up very quickly in Catalonia.

The standoff between Madrid and Barcelona over Catalan independence appears to be ready to come to an end.

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.

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

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

We mourn Charlottesville because Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States, made clear in no uncertain terms that in his mind there was little distinction between those in Charlottesville who pursued the un-American “values” of soil, blood, and racial dominance and those who pursued the ideals of the American Constitution.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear its first case on partisan gerrymandering in more than ten years, but opponents of the practice shouldn’t start celebrating just yet.

The Senate has passed an amendment to a military spending bill that would require women to register for the draft.

As Ben Carson rises in the polls, it’s worth noting his many examples of having what can only be called a very odd relationship with truth and the basic facts of history.

With notable exceptions, most of the Republican candidates for President are refusing to take a stand on the propriety of South Carolina flying the Confederate Flag. That’s called cowardice.