Outside the Beltway

The American Civil Liberties Union has joined the list of groups with lawsuits against the President’s declaration of a “national emergency” at the southern border.

Bernie is back and running for President, but he’s likely to face a tougher road this time around.

The lawsuits against President Trump’s “national emergency” have begun. Except more.

Faced with a field that could be more crowded than the Republican field in 2016, Democrats have come up with a different solution to the rather obvious problem of debate scheduling.

As the shutdown enters its thirty-fourth day and the Senate gets ready to vote on proposals that have no chance of succeeding, Democrats are preparing a new proposal.

The government shutdown has now entered historic territory, and the Trump Administration is moving closer to a “national emergency” or other extra-legal means to get money for his wall.

As the shutdown drags on, Republicans are beginning to fear that members in the House and Senate may begin to fall away from supporting the President.

New York State seems likely to join the list of states where marijuana has been legalized sometime next year.

Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema will end up representing Arizona in the Senate together.

Republicans scored a win in Court last week, but it seems likely to lead to a political loss in the long-term.

On Tuesday, Michigan joined the ranks of the states where marijuana is legal and several other states legalized it for medical purposes.

Whether as candidates or as voters, Democrats can thank women for many of their victories on Tuesday.

Just over a week before two states will be voting on referendums to legalize recreational marijuana, a new poll finds that two-thirds of Americans support legalization.

The Trump Administration is preparing a policy change that will essentially define transgender Americans out of existence.

Another drug war example.

Last week, the Washington State Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional. The latest in a string of victories for opponents of capital punishment.

One month before voters in several states head to the polls to vote on legalization referendums, a new poll shows that public support for legalization remains at record high levels.

After four days of hearings, the fate of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court seems assured.

An Oregon state agency is suggesting that Walmart’s decision to restrict arms sales to bar people under 21, but over 18, from being able to purchase firearms violates state law.

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees has suspended football coach Urban Meyer for three games over his handling of allegations of domestic violence by an Assistant Coach dating back to 2015.

Another step forward in the seemingly unstoppable movement toward nationwide legalization.

Another Federal Judge has ruled in favor of a transgender student seeking the right to use the gender that conforms to the gender they identify with.

A Federal Judge in Oregon has rejected an efforts by a parent’s group to block a school district policy that allows transgender students to use the restroom facilities that conform to their gender identity.

The Garden State has put a hold on marijuana prosecutions in anticipation of full legalization by the end of the year.

An initiative that would have purported to split California into three separate states has been barred by the California Supreme Court from appearing on the November ballot.

The midterm elections are still four months away, but Democrats are already making moves to prepare for the race for their party’s Presidential nomination in 2020.

In November, Michigan voters will be able to make their state the tenth state to legalize marijuana. This is just the latest step in what seems to be an irreversible trend.

The calls to “Abolish ICE” are spreading to potential candidates for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination.

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

Tim Draper’s fantasy will finally get a vote this November.

A big win for Federalism and common sense at the Supreme Court.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization according to a new poll.

The highest ranking Democrat in the Senate has introduced a bill that would effectively decriminalize marijuana nationwide and leave it up to each state to decide how far they wish to go with regard to cannabis regulation. It’s a huge step in the right direction.

CNN reports that the Interior Secretary, who claims to be a “geologist,” merely has a geology degree.

Mark Zuckerberg’s second day before Congress was somewhat more contentious than the first, but at the end of the day it’s still unclear that more regulation is the answer to the issues raised by recent Facebook “scandals.”

Late last week, Hawaii became the seventh state and eighth major American jurisdiction to legalize assisted suicide.

President Trump’s call for National Guard troops isn’t going over well even with Republican Governors.

The Federal Government has fired another shot in the ongoing war over so-called “sanctuary cities.”

Another lawsuit has been filed against Dick’s Sporting Goods over its policy barring gun sales based on age.

The inevitable response to announcements by the big box stores that they would not sell guns to those under 21 has arrived.

The actor best known for his run on M*A*S*H died Saturday after a battle with colon cancer.

Following yesterday’s move by Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart has raised the age for all gun sales to 21.

As with any such discretionary power given to police, it will surely be abused. But the Parkland shooting was yet another in a long line of situations where obvious “red flags” were ignored until it was too late.

Two Amtrak crashes in less than a week is newsworthy. It is not, however, a trend.

A longstanding claim—that I myself believed to be true—is that spending money on preventative care like regular checkups would save money in the long run by catching health issues before they become acute. The evidence does not support this.

A group of 21 states has filed a petition to review the F.C.C.’s recent net neutrality rule changes, but it faces an uncertain future.

The GOP’s potential troubles in 2018 don’t just exist at the Congressional level.

The Trump Administration is reversing policy on an Obama Era policy that allowed states to choose their own course on marijuana laws.

The Supreme Court heard argument today in a case challenging a 1992 law barring sports gambling in all but a handful of states, and the Justices appeared skeptical of the law.

As I’ve said before, the Republican Party in the Trump Era has become the party of Trumpaloons, sycophants, sellouts, and cowards.