Outside the Beltway

The State of Texas is arguing in Court that a school district can force a student to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

Much of what Donald Trump has claimed about how he built his fortune is a lie, and at least part of it originated in his father’s shady efforts to evade taxes.

Republicans intend to “plow through” on the Kavanaugh nomination even after yesterday’s hearing, but it’s not clear that they have the votes to confirm him.

Voter turnout in primary elections in 2018 was significantly above normal levels. especially in Democratic races.

Former President Bush has waded back into politics but don’t expect him to be campaigning for Ted Cruz.

As Hurricane Florence bears down on the East Coast, most people are listening to orders to evacuate, but some people aren’t.

After spending most of his post-Presidency on the political sidelines, former President Bush is hitting the fundraising trail for GOP candidates in Texas and Florida.

With the Democratic Primary just days away, Andrew Cuomo’s Democratic challenger in New York is making headlines thanks to a rather odd culinary choice.

The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh is, effectively, assured. Democrats should be careful about how much further they push their opposition.

The GOP’s hold on the Bob Corker’s Senate seat in Tennessee may be in jeopardy.

The tough guy actor best known for the “Smokey And The Bandit” movies has passed away at the age of 82.

The first significant post-primary poll of the Florida Senate race shows a dead heat between Governor Rick Scott and Senator Bill Nelson.

A new poll shows Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum with an early, but slim lead, over Congressman Ron DeSantis in the race for Florida’s Governor’s Mansion.

The first day of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings was much ado about pretty much nothing, but then that can be used to describe a process whose outcome is pretty much foreordained.

Another “progressive” victory over a longtime Democratic incumbent, but this one is a bit different.

An Oregon state agency is suggesting that Walmart’s decision to restrict arms sales to bar people under 21, but over 18, from being able to purchase firearms violates state law.

The confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh begin today, but the outcome seems foreordained.

Author Sam Anderson puts forward a rather strange hypothesis in Politico.

Alex Jones lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed by families of children killed in the Sandy Hook massacre.

Despite the evidence, the President thinks he did a great job handling a disaster in which nearly 3,000 American citizens died.

A new study concludes that the total death toll from Hurricane Maria was vastly higher than previously reported.

Less than twelve hours into the General Election campaign for Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis is already making mistakes.

As expected, Rick Scott easily won the GOP nomination for Senate in Florida, setting up one of the most highly anticipated Senate races of the year.

Florida voters in the Republican and Democratic parties have set up a Gubernatorial race that provides a stark choice on the table for Sunshine State voters in a race that will likely have national implications moving forward.

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees has suspended football coach Urban Meyer for three games over his handling of allegations of domestic violence by an Assistant Coach dating back to 2015.

The American public is not sold on the idea of a ‘Space Force.’

Venezuela has arrested two military officers in connection with the alleged assassination attempt on President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.

A group of lawsuits filed across the country are seeking to challenge the predominant method for allocation of Electoral College votes. These lawsuits appear to have little merit.

A Florida man who shot and killed an African-American male amid a parking lot confrontation will face manslaughter charges after all.

White supremacists held a rally in Washington on Sunday, and almost no one but their opponents and the police showed up.

The head football coach at the University of Maryland has been suspended after reports of a “toxic environment” that led to the death of a student athlete in June.

Just days after being indicted on insider trading charges, New York Congressman Chris Collins is suspending his campaign for re-election.

Another Federal Judge has ruled in favor of a transgender student seeking the right to use the gender that conforms to the gender they identify with.

Most Americans disapprove of the President’s handling of our relationship with Russia, and foreign policy more generally, in the wake of the Helsinki Summit. That’s not having much of an impact on his overall job approval, though.

Rick Scott is pulling in impressive fundraising numbers, giving Democrats reason to worry that they’ll have another Senate seat to worry about in November.

Mariia Butina, a Russian “gun rights activist, is accused of being an unregistered agent of the Russian government and attempting to influence Republican Party policies regarding Russia in an operation that pre-dates the Trump Presidential campaign.

The Strzok hearing provides a return to this timeworn favorite.

At least in these early days, Democrats appear to lack a coherent message, or a coherent strategy, to propel any effort to block Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

A selection that is likely to keep the Senate GOP united and red-state Democrats up for re-election under pressure to vote to confirm.

What was once a rare symbol of national mourning has become so commonplace as to be meaningless.

Jarrod Ramos should have been in jail, let alone allowed to have any weapon more dangerous than a butter knife.

A man with a grudge against the Annapolis Capital Gazette killed five people in the newsroom.

Once touted as an example of his deal-making prowess, Harley-Davidson sent a rebuke to President Trump by announcing it was moving some manufacturing to Europe to counteract the impact of his ongoing trade war.

A controversial name is disappearing from one small stretch of road.

The 100-mile Constitution-free zone strikes again.

Donald Trump wants Republicans to make his immigration policies the centerpiece of the midterm campaign. What could possibly go wrong?

John Kelly is nearing the end of his first year as White House Chief of Staff, and it’s becoming apparent that his mission to bring order to a disordered White House has failed.

The President continues to enjoy enthusiastic support from the over-65 set.

Corey Stewart may be the darling of the Trumpidians in the GOP, but he won’t be getting any help from Senate Republicans.

Trump’s withdrawal of his invitation to the Philadelphia Eagles is just another example of his populistic nationalism. (And it isn’t healthy).