Outside the Beltway

Happy Thanksgiving!

Florida voters approved an amendment to the state’s Constitution that will restore the voting rights of as many as 1.2 million ex-felons and make it easier for future released felons to get their civil rights back.

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.

New evidence indicates that the same Russian backed bots and trolls that sought to influence the 2016 election are now attempting to exploit the social divisions raised by the N.F.L. players kneeling during the National Anthem.

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

ESPN won’t air the National Anthem before regular season games this year, but that probably won’t stop the President from ranting about it.

As much as we hate paying $200 a month for television, the future is likely going to be worse.

The first night of games in the N.F.L. pre-season included some sporadic protests during the National Anthem, and prompted a predictable response from the President.

In the wake of a grievance filed by the union representing players, the N.F.L. has suspended the new National Anthem policy it announced earlier this year. This guarantees even more cynical political exploitation by the President.

In a new interview, the President says that he doesn’t believe that N.F.L. players who kneel during the National Anthem have a real issue.

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

Most Americans disagree with Trump on the N.F.L. National Anthem protests, but Republicans are behind him.

President Trump waded back into the National Anthem debate when he revoked the invitation of the Philadelphia Eagles to come to the White House today.

Donald Trump may or may not be racist himself, but he has most certainly exploited and helped widen racial divisions ever since bursting on the political scene in 2015.

President Trump’s response to the N.F.L.’s new National Anthem policy is as narrow-minded and divisive as you’d expected it to be.

The N.F.L. has come up with a dumb “solution” to a non-existent problem.

The Donald Trump presidency has some eerie parallels with his run on “The Apprentice.”

ESPN the Magazine has broken out the slide rule to rank the top athletes during its first two decades.

In a healthy democracy we need not agree, nor must we finally even respect one another’s objects of devotion.  But we should exercise a salutary measure of mutual forbearance and be willing to acknowledge that no side has a monopoly on either truth or justice.

Donald Trump lies about even the most trivial matters, How are we supposed to believe anything else he says?

My latest for The National Interest has posted.

A huge loss for the world of Rock & Roll.

Ezekiel Elliott got a legal reprieve late last week, but it may not last for long and it could have a big impact on the fortunes of the Dallas Cowboys.

Donald Trump has apparently made the American public more supportive of players who kneel for the National Anthem.

Donald Trump’s entire modus operandi involves pushing divisive cultural hot buttons.

Downplaying earlier reports, the National Football League is shooting down reports that it would move to force players to stand for the National Anthem.

A legal setback for Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys.

Vice-President Pence left an Indianapolis Colts game early in what was obviously a cynical pre-planned publicity stunt.

Most Americans don’t support President Trump’s statements about the protests by N.F.L. players, but it’s just another example of him using hateful rhetoric to pander to his base.

A new poll shows, unsurprisingly, that the vast majority of Americans see Donald Trump as a divider rather than a uniter

In President Trump’s mind, American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights are “sons of bitches” who should be fired for exercising their rights.

Former N.F.L. player, and convicted murderer, Aaron Hernandez suffered from a severe case of C.T.E. at the time of his death according to a post-mortem brain study.

Once again, the National Football League sees its disciplinary and appeal process criticized by a Federal Judge.

The NFLPA alleges “egregious violations of legal due process” in the Ezekiel Elliot suspension.

Trump and his underlings continue to lie, even about the most trivial of matters.

Being a public servant, especially serving as President or in the White House in general, means you are going to be criticized, lampooned, ridiculed, and even “attacked.”

In light of a recent Supreme Court decision, the Federal Government is ending its defense of an effort to revoke the trademarks of the Washington Redskins.

The Worldwide Leader fired over 100 on-air personalities yesterday.

Another step toward making it easier to cut the cord.

Fewer people are watching live television events such as the Super Bowl and Academy Awards.

There were 111.3 million people tuned into the Super Bowl on Sunday, slightly lower than last year.

If you changed the channel after the third quarter, you missed what ended up becoming a game for the ages.

The final debate of 2016 didn’t draw as many viewers as the first Hillary v. Donald match-up, but it still drew a respectable number.

Viewership for the second debate fell some twenty percent from the first debate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that voter are losing interest.

Responding to comments on this morning’s post.

New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady has abandoned his option to appeal the ‘Deflategate’ ruling to the Supreme Court and will serve his four game suspension beginning in September.

Tom Brady and the N.F.L. Player’s Association suffered another legal setback in their appeal of the ‘Deflategate’ suspension.

An N.F.L. defensive legend has passed away at the age of 82.

A true legend in legal journalism is moving on.