Outside the Beltway

A long-standing staple of American culture will soon be no more.

Public defenders in New Mexico are overworked, underfunded, and outmatched, but then that’s true pretty much everywhere in the country.

Another attack in what has been a bloody 2016 for Europe.

An odd choice for HUD Secretary.

Another month of solid but not spectacular jobs growth seems to guarantee that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates this month.

Trump had a much lower bar than Clinton going in. Neither cleared it.

Another sign of a weak economy as the Federal Reserve considers rate hikes and the Presidential campaign moves forward.

Yesterday, Hillary Clinton pointed out truths about Donald Trump that his fellow Republicans were too scared to point out during the primary..

There’s nothing compasssionate about protectionism.

As expected, Hillary Clinton went with the ‘safe’ choice, and has selected Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate.

Mississippi tried to provide special protection to opponents of same-sex marriage and transgender rights. A Federal District Court Judge, properly, finds the law to be unconstitutional.

The Financial Crisis was not a problem of macroeconomics, but a cluster of microeconomic problems all acting together.

A purported ‘short list’ of potential running mates for Hillary Clinton is out. Here’s how the candidates stack up.

A report card for the 2009 Stimulus Bill.

The Clinton campaign probably thought the email story was behind them. The new report from the State Department’s Inspector General shows just how wrong they were about that.

A journalistic legend has passed away just days after his retirement was officially announced.

The political fight over North Carolina’s so-called “Bathroom Bill” has moved to the Federal Courts.

Surprising results from a new poll regarding “bathroom” bills and transgender Americans.

The rise of Trump and Sanders has resurrected a debate as old as Western civilization.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is beginning to look beyond Bernie Sanders and talk about running mates.

As the Empire State votes, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton look well positioned to have a very good night.

The President has another plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It’s as likely to be well-received on Capitol Hill as all of his other previous plans on this issue.

An anemic end to 2015 raises concerns about the health of the economy going forward.

China’s economy is still growing, but it’s most recently reported growth rate is slower than the nation has seen in quite some time.

In a move it had been telegraphing for the better part of a year, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since July 2006.

The no-fly list is a flawed, arbitrary mess that has kept innocent people from flying for years. Using it to deny people rights recognized by the Constitution is, quite honestly, insane.

Protests by students at Princeton are causing some people to finally pay attention to some inconvenient truths about America’s 28th President.

Mexicans are more likely to be returning home than migrating to the United States, a new report finds.

You may not be aware, but your local Starbucks is the new front in the ‘War On Christmas.’

Houston voters rejected a broad anti-discrimination law largely due to a campaign that focused almost exclusively on concerns about transgender rights.

Gross Domestic Product grew at a sluggish 1.5% in the just-concluded Third Quarter, calling the Federal Reserve’s apparent plan to raise interest rates at some point even further into question.

After months of hinting that interest rates would be rising this month, signs of economic weakness led the Federal Reserve to hold back.

Britain’s Labour Party has taken a hard tilt left with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader.

A Federal Appeals Court has dealt a setback to Texas in the battle over its Voter ID Law.

The economy rebounded from it’s winter shock, but it still doesn’t seem strong enough to justify the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates.

Low costs and regulatory barriers are attracting people to red states–thus turning them purple and blue.

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

Lee Siegel takes to the NYT to explain “Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans.”

Yet another poll shows that most Americans support a path to citizenship, and that a majority of Republican agree with them.

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.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer suggests that his fellow Congressmen and Senators are underpaid at $174,000 per year.

Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, could hold the key to the future of Britain in her hands after the election ends on May 7th.

The sources of new immigrants to the United States are changing, but it’s unclear if that will have any impact on the political debate over immigration reform.

Economic growth slowed significantly in the first three months of 2015, but it’s not clear what that means going forward.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is insightful and eloquent. He’s wrong in this instance.

A bill pending in Louisiana seems likely to become the next national focus in the debate between marriage equality and claims of ‘religious freedom.’

Indiana’s RFRA will be amended to address most of the concerns of its opponents. That counts as a victory.