Outside the Beltway

Judicial activism doesn’t mean “reaching a decision I don’t like.”

The weekend arrest of a Columbia University Professor for an apparently consensual act raises some interesting questions about why precisely a specific act should be subject to criminal prosecution.

How would appointed Senators affect the partisan mix of the Senate?

Roughly 150 years ago, the CSA was born. Is this something worthy of celebration?

Shocking Headline Of The Day: “Willie Nelson charged with pot possession in Texas.”

Tom DeLay is a sleazebag and has been found guilty by an Austin jury for skirting the law. But it may in fact be a miscarriage of justice despite the victim being as unsympathetic as it gets.

A ten year old case out of Texas raises yet more doubts about the justice of the death penalty.

The Chairmen of the National Debt Commission have released a draft report for consideration. It’s got some very good ideas, but it’s most likely Dead On Arrival.

Those images on your Facebook page may come back to haunt you if you decide to run for office someday.

The race between Jeb Hensarling and Michelle Bachmann for Chair of the House GOP Conference is a microcosm for a battle that is likely to take place within the GOP for the next two years.

Despite votes in the 2010 contest still being counted, polls for 2012 are already pouring out. They’re largely meaningless.

An NBC analysis shows Tea Party candidates winning only 5 of 10 Senate races and 40 of 130 House races, a success rate of only 32 percent.

Reports of voting irregularity in precincts across the country are threatening to further undermine voter confidence in the legitimacy of election outcomes. There’s a simple solution.

Charles Murray argues that the Tea Party is right to complain about out-of-touch elites.

There’s a trend toward using metrics to identify ways to stem the skyrocketing cost of higher education. The likeliest result is to devalue the “education” component.

The Tea Party movement doesn’t seem to have a coherent view on foreign policy. Which means that a Tea Party victory will just mean more of the same Republican neo-conservatism.

Recklessness.

Politico says 99 Democratic House seats are “in play.” They’re not. But dozens are.

A US soldier who captured a deadly 2009 rampage at Fort Hood with his cell phone camera testified Friday that he was ordered to erase the video by his commanders.

Politicians are, by definition, a bit abnormal. However, this year we seem to have more than our fair share of the truly odd.

It’s been a decade since al Qaeda attacked the USS Cole, killing 17 American sailors. The perpetrators are still at large.

If everything you know about Islam comes from Pam Geller and Christianity from Christopher Hitchens, you’re doing yourself a grave disservice.

Are we facing a Sharia take-over?

A new projection of Congressional reapportionment shows a dramatic shift to traditionally Republican states in the South and Southwest.

A history book used in Texas until 2003 mentions Islam more than Christianity. Much outrage ensues.

The Republican Leadership is treating Lisa Murkowski very differently than the Democrats handled Joe Lieberman in 2006.

Is Sarah Palin running for President in 2012 ? It’s looking more and more likely that the answer might be yes.

Sarah Palin had a very good track record in her primary season endorsements, but it’s not at all clear that she will have much of an impact on the 2010 General Election.

For the first time ever, white students do not make up a majority among freshmen at the University of Texas at Austin.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels appears to be quietly putting together the beginnings of a campaign for President of the United States. Don’t count him out by any means.

In comments this morning, Justice Stephen Breyer seemed to suggest that Koran burning might not necessarily be Constitutionally protected.

White America is within thinkable distance of a moment when it will no longer be the majority.

While Republicans will likely take over some key governorships and state legislature after November’s midterms, America’s changing demographics will limit their ability to gerrymander safe districts.