Outside the Beltway

The job approval numbers for Congress are at historic lows, but will that matter in 2012?

Much like bills named for dead children, there’s a very high likelihood that any bill with “protecting children” and/or “pornographers” in the title is a) a very bad idea, b) a very stupid idea, c) of dubious Constitutionality, or, as here, d) all of the above.

The electoral map should be making the Obama 2012 camp just a little bit nervous.

He’s not in the race (yet), but Rick Perry is already a top-tier 2012 candidate.

Are the new crop of GOP governors too conservative?

Workers picketing a Chicago Hyatt hotel yesterday got an unpleasant surprise: Heat lamps.

For the moment, the GOP race looks like a race between Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann, which should make Romney happy

A Federal Appeals Court struck down an Amendment to the Michigan Constitution today as unconstitutional.

The venerable Brooks Brothers is getting into the college apparel business, selling sweaters and polos for Boston College; the U.S. Naval Academy, Auburn, Cornell, Harvard, New York, Ohio State, Princeton, Stanford, and Vanderbilt Universities and the Universities of Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame and Virginia.

When one runs for president, it is assumed that one has a shot at one’s home state. Some of the GOP hopefuls, however, look more like unfavorite sons (and daughters).

An ex-CIA agent says that someone in the Bush White House tried to use the agency to “discredit” Iraq War critic Juan Cole.

Dennis Kucinich and nine other Members of Congress are suing the President. They won’t get very far.

Perhaps understandably, the Anthony Weiner incident seems to have caused some politicians to rethink their Twitter strategy.

Jack Kevorkian, the man who’s illegal assisted suicide rampage earned him the nickname “Dr. Death,” has died.

Jim Tressel has resigned as head coach of the Ohio State football team.

Republicans tired of the current slate of presidential candidates can rest easy: Thaddeus McCotter may offer up his services.

Mitt Romney began his effort to confront what is likely to be his biggest political liability in the 2012 campaign.

The challenges to the Affordable Care Act will remain in the Courts of Appeals for now, but they’re still on a pretty fast track.

Terry Jones may sue the City of Dearborn for its prior restraint actions against him. And he should.

By engaging in a blatantly unconstitutional prosecution of Pastor Terry Jones, Dearborn has actually boosted his nonsensical cause.

The story that GE paid zero taxes last year despite mega-billion dollar profits is completely untrue.

The only people responsible for the murders in Afghanistan are the people who committed them, but the demagogues like Terry Jones deserve condemnation as well.

Natural disasters in Japan have lessened the supply of pigments necessary to make black paint.

The Libyan rebels probably aren’t strong enough to defeat Gaddafi on their own, and the no-fly zone isn’t going to be enough either. Which means this operation is going to be far more extensive than President Obama is willing to admit publicly.

Ron Paul is poised to win the CPAC Straw Poll. So what?

A second Federal District Court judge has declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.

One Republican Congressman is calling on President Obama to stand firmly behind our “friend” in Cairo, even though there’s little evidence we can trust him.

Two Senators are proposing a Constitutional Amendment to redefine what it means to be an American citizen.

Clarence Thomas has amended 13 years’ worth of disclosure reports.

Dr. Dre is arguing that police officers have no right to privacy.

Some members of Congress sleep in their offices in lieu of renting residences in DC. Fiscally responsible or kinda odd?

Anti-Immigrant groups are beginning their assault on the 14th Amendment, but don’t expect it to go anywhere.

The author of AZ’s SB1070 has a new idea.

A Michigan man faces five years in prison for reading his wife’s email.

Red States should gain 10 seats while Blue States should lose eight.