Outside the Beltway

Politics makes strange bedfellows.

Money has increasingly dominated American politics but the court case had little to do with it.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has apologized for blocking constituents on Twitter as part of a legal settlement.

The National Basketball Association’s kowtowing to China hits American shores.

South Park mocked Chinese censorship so, of course, they were censored in China.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions toward two Democratic Congresswomen,seemingly at the bidding of President Trump, is the latest example of the growing partisan divide over policy toward Israel.

A defense of a modest philosophy of judicial interpretation.

Tulsi Gabbard has filed a seemingly frivolous lawsuit against Google due to a temporary suspension of her advertising account.

A Federal Judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by a Kentucky teenager alleging he had been defamed by the coverage of his confrontation with a Native American man in January.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being sued for blocking people on Twitter. She’s likely to lose the lawsuits.

Joe Biden delivered his first major foreign policy address of the campaign. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than what we have right now.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a District Court ruling that President Trump cannot block Twitter users from accessing his account.

President Trump’s first Supreme Court appointment has joined the liberal bloc on several cases.

The Supreme Court has struck down a provision of the Lanham Act barring approval of “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks as unconstitutional.

The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled against a Seattle-area florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding.

Donald Trump has endorsed a proposal by a Republican Senator to ban flag burning.

The Supreme Court declined to rule on the merits in a case dealing with a Oregon baker who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding reception.

Presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway stands credibly accused of multiple violations of Federal law. The President will do nothing about it.

Amusing results, and a history lesson, in a new poll

Sanders’ suggestion is not as outside democratic norms as one might think.

Two-thirds want social media platforms to ban harassment and racist, sexist, and other offensive speech.

Free expression sometimes enables horrible crimes. How does a free society deal with that tension?

A powerful Congressman successfully pressured a media giant to pull content. We should be worried.

In a two-hour rant before an adoring crowd of CPAC sycophants. President Trump displayed everything wrong with him and his Presidency.

Cardinal George Pell, the top Catholic Cleric in Australia, has been convicted of sexually abusing boys in the 1990s.

A student in Florida has been charged with creating a disturbance after declining to recite the Pledge Of Allegiance in class.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court rejected a challenge by three women to their prosecution for going topless on a public beach in the Granite State.

A Federal Judge in Washington ruled that the White House acted improperly when it arbitrary revoked CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass.

Europe has abandoned centuries-old laws against blasphemy, but the assault on so-called “hate speech” threatens to effectively bring them back.

Charges have been filed against the man responsible for the massacre in Pittsburgh in both Federal and State court.

America’s tradition of unlimited free expression increases the danger of violence.

Jamal Khashoggi’s final column includes a message that should resonate far beyond the Arab world it was addressed to.

A Federal Judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed against the President

Part III is here (a lot sooner than Part II was).

For the second time this year, a Federal Court has struck down a state law designed to punish businesses that engage in a boycott aimed at Israel.

Yesterday’s test of the Presidential Alert system went about as planned.

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.

Just how far should White House staffers and civil servants go in protecting the public from an erratic president?

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

The former CIA Director has been stripped of his access to classified information after repeatedly criticizing the President.

In what appears to be a move based purely on vindictiveness, President Trump has revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan.

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

Facebook, Google, and several other companies have closed down accounts associated with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Another morning, and another unhinged Twitter attack on the Mueller investigation by a President who claims the entire investigation is a “hoax” and “Fake News.”

A Federal Judge in Washington State has, at least temporarily, blocked the release of files that would allow anyone to make a 3-D printed gun. The First Amendment seems to clearly indicate that this ruling is wrong.

Federal law protects internet companies from liability for statements written by others.

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

The Polish Government has amended a controversial law that sought to punish people for discussing the role that some Poles played in the Holocaust.

After thirty years on the bench, during which he played a central role in some of the Supreme Court’s most significant rulings, Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that public sector unions cannot force employees to pay membership fees.