Outside the Beltway

A New York City Grand Jury refuses to indict a cop who appears from all available evidence to choked a guy to death for no good reason.

Michael Brown’s stepfather made incendiary comments in the wake of the Grand Jury announcement, but they do not amount to a crime.

The Food & Drug Administration’s new regulations requiring calorie and other information on menus in restaurants and elsewhere won’t work, could limit consumer choice, and may not be Constitutional.

Next week, the Supreme Court will be asked to determine the line between free speech online and criminal threats

Today is a day for turkey and football, not a day for politics.

The numbers don’t lie, Mitt Romney remains popular among Republican voters.

Columbus, Philadelphia, or New York City (well, Brooklyn really)?

Sen. Charles Schumer says Democrats made a mistake by concentrating on getting health care reform passed instead of on fixing the economy.

A not unexpected decision from the Grand Jury that investigated the Michael Brown shooting.

A surprising change at the top of the military’s civilian chain of command.

Once again, a Federal Judge has barred New Jersey’s effort to legalize sports betting based on Federal law. it’s time for the Federal Government to get out of the way on this issue.

You thought the American combat role in Afghanistan would end on December 31st? Think again.

Fresh off his third statewide win in four years, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker appears to be getting ready to run for President.

The idea that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists is simply not historically accurate, so should we be reconsidering the policy of not negotiating with ISIS for the release of Western hostages?

Adapting a relic of the 20th Century to the 21st Century.

Every member of the Supreme Court graduated from an Ivy League Law School. That kind of homogeneity is not healthy.

The labor laws apply no matter what business you’re in.

We appear to be just days away from an announcement from the Grand Jury investigating the Michael Brown shooting, and the consensus seems to be that there will be no indictment at all.

The White House is now leaking out details of what seems like an inevitable decision by the President. How it plays out politically, though, is the big question.

There’s not much good news in the initial review of September’s fence jumping incident at the White House.

Mike Huckabee seems to be making the moves necessary to run for President again, For reasons only he can understand.

After the 2010 elections, several newly Republican state legislatures flirted with the idea of changing the way their state allocates Electoral Votes. The outcome of last weeks elections raises the possibility that this could happen again.

Vatican politics is older than American politics, and can be just as entertaining.

Americans have wildly distorted understandings of the society around them.

Good news for two released Americans, but no clue what’s motivating North Korea’s latest actions.

Even innocent interactions with women in public can amount to harassment. Where should we draw the line?

There’s more to life than politics. Unfortunately, there are many Americans who don’t seem to recognize that fact.

Another mostly good, but not great, jobs report.

Trying to explain one of the biggest surprises of Election Night 2014.

Good news that ought to quiet people’s concerns significantly, on the Ebola front.

Increasing the minimum wage proved to be popular at the ballot box Tuesday, unsurprisingly, However, it did not help Democrats on the same ballot.

The results of the 2014 midterms should teach us some lessons about how to handle and evaluate polling.

The Republican wave extended even to Governor’s races that, in any other year, they should have lost.

The GOP added to its majority in the House, giving it the biggest majority it has had since Truman was President.

Reports from the Justice Department seem to be laying the groundwork for more disappointment for those hoping for charges against Officer Darren Wilson.

Two Duke University academics make an incredibly weak, ultimately unpersuasive, argument in favor of eliminating midterm elections by changing the length of Congressional terms.

Early numbers seem to suggest that it depends on which state you’re looking at.

Would increasing the size of the House of Representatives be the cure for what ails Congress?

There’s nothing wrong with choosing not to vote.

Two states and the nation’s capital could have legal marijuana after Tuesday’s elections.

We may have our first legal challenge to an Ebola quarantine order by tomorrow