Outside the Beltway

Despite the activism we’ve seen in the wake of the school shooting in Florida, it’s unlikely that we’ll see significant Congressional action on guns.

Ben Carson has expensive taste in office furniture.

This is very much why the security clearance process requires so much financial disclosure.

What is CPAC telling us about the contemporary conservative movement?

Mexico’s President canceled a visit to the United States for the second time since Donald Trump became President due to a continued disagreement over who will pay for Trump’s border wall.

The Defense Department will reportedly recommend to President Trump that transgender members of the service currently serving in the military be allowed to continue serving.

Since the Supreme Court handed down its decision in District of Columbia v. Heller four separate Federal appellate courts have ruled that state and local laws banning “assault weapons” do not violate the Second Amendment.

President Trump is pressing the idea of arming teachers to stop shootings in schools.

The students who survived last week’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida are speaking out, and some on the right are responding by engaging in personal attacks and spreading conspiracy theories.

Donald Trump’s dereliction of duty in response to clear evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election is a staggering and flagrant dereliction of the duties he agreed to take on when he took the Oath Of Office more than a year ago.

From the F.B.I. on down, there were multiple warnings that could have prevented Wednesday’s tragedy in Parkland, Florida.

The prospect for a fix to help DACA beneficiaries is looking gloomier than ever.

While I don’t always agree with her, I’ve never ceased to be amazed at the sheer vitriol she inspires, given that she’s unfailingly polite, not discernibly partisan, and bends over backwards to acknowledge the merits of competing viewpoints.

The Department of Education announced yesterday that it will no longer investigate civil rights complaints from transgender students regarding bathroom access in public schools.

The Judge presiding over a case dealing with Trump’s proposed border wall expressed doubts about the project. The President will no doubt be irked by the identity of that Judge.

President Trump spoke up about the spousal abuse charges against his former Staff Secretary Rob Porter. His response was entirely predictable.

WaPo is overhyping things a bit.

The Rob Porter story, which is quickly becoming the Rob Porter scandal, tells us a lot about the Trump White House, and none of it is good.

Congress seems likely to pass a budget deal today that will massively increase spending, putting to rest once and for all the rank hypocrisy of Republicans when it comes to claims that they are “fiscally conservative.”

Of course Donald Trump wants a military parade, it would be consistent with his delusions of grandeur.

Recent polls have caused Republicans to become more optimistic about their chances in this year’s midterms. That optimism is both premature and misplaced.

Donald Trump spent much of the past year touting the rising stock market, now he’s getting a lesson in reality.

A newly released poll has encouraging signs for Democrats in 2018, but there are several caveats.

A confusing new report from the Washington Post.

The two most important allegations in the Nunes memo appear to be complete lies.

The military options thus far presented for dealing with the DPRK have not been satisfying.

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

Embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has dodged a bullet, but still faces uncertain prospects for reelection.

Two weeks later, it’s still unclear what caused a false missile alert to be sent out in Hawaii.

The President talked about national unity last night, but given his own rhetoric as a candidate and as a President, it’s a call that seems to be hypocritical.

A quarter century ago, soldiers were first using GPS to help them navigate the battlefield. Now, GPS is giving away their location.

President Trump and his supporters like to claim that the economy has been booming since he became President. A look at the numbers reveals that this is not the case.

And the evidence for obstruction of justice continues to mount.

It’s been seven years since Congress eliminated earmarking, and what we’ve seen has provided good evidence for the argument that it should never have been eliminated.

The deal that led to the end of the Federal Government shutdown isn’t sitting well with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

While final votes remain to be taken, the Federal Government shutdown effectively ended this afternoon with an overwhelming bipartisan vote to reopen the government, combined with a commitment from Republicans to consider a DACA bill over the next three weeks. What happens next, though, is entirely uncertain.

As the Federal Government shutdown moves into the work week, there are some rumors of a possible deal, but nothing concrete and the lack of trust between the two parties could make a deal hard to achieve.

The government is shut down and Washington is playing the usual blame game. In reality, there’s plenty of blame to go around, and one of the guilty parties is the American people.

With just hours to go, it seems increasingly unlikely that the Senate can reach a deal to keep the government open.

Two Republicans spoke out today against the President’s war on the news media, but don’t expect their colleagues to follow suit.

Once again, President Trump opens his mouth and proceeds to insult a good part of the world while embarrassing the country.

A Federal Court in North Carolina has issued a stinging ruling against the partisan gerrymandering undertaken by the Republican legislature in that state.

Steve Bannon loses his position at Breitbart after his blistering comments about the President and others in the Administration became public.

If you can’t beat a dead horse on a blog, where can you?