Outside the Beltway

The capital of the purported caliphate declared by ISIS has apparently fallen, but that doesn’t mean the end of ISIS. In fact, it may make the group more dangerous.

President Trump sinks even lower.

Two Federal Judges have issued orders blocking the latest version of President Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban.

Republican Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray say they’ve reached a bipartisan deal to fix an important part of the Affordable Care Act.

Now Donald Trump is using the death of American soldiers to tell lies about his predecessor.

There’s something in the water up at Harvard……

The President’s job approval numbers remain at historic lows, while a growing number of Americans say that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

The Bergdahl case comes to an end.

Iraqi military forces begin to crack down against Iraqi Kurds after last month’s independence referendum.

The school district in Biloxi, Mississippi has removed ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ from the 8th-grade reading list because it “makes people uncomfortable.”

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

Despite the fact that everyone seems to agree that Iran is complying with the nuclear weapons deal, President Trump took steps that will undermine that agreement and do serious damage to American credibility around the world.

Susan Collins will stay in the Senate rather than running for Governor of Maine next year.

A legal setback for Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys.

After initially signaling support for a bill banning ‘bump stocks,’ Republicans in Congress now appear to be hoping someone else will act for them.

Just three weeks after their home was hit by a devastating storm, Donald Trump is attacking Puerto Ricans for not recovering from the storm sooner.

Another big change for the Boy Scouts.

Donald Trump is continuing to up the ante in his rhetorical war against one of America’s most fundamental freedoms.

New polling shows increased support for gun control measures in the wake of Las Vegas, but it’s not likely to last and it won’t lead to any significant action by Congress.

Donald Trump continues to be as astoundingly ignorant about the most powerful weapons the U.S. military possesses as he was as a candidate.

At least for now, Republicans seem to be giving up on repealing and replacing the PPACA. That’s not going to make the base happy.

Former Trump aide Steve Bannon is declaring war on Republicans in the Senate.

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

A complicated concurrence to Steven Taylor’s recent postings.

More thoughts related to Gill v. Whitford and the problem of extreme gerrymandering.

And even moreso when they are consciously created by the winner.

Reversing an Obama Era position, the Justice Department has rescinded a legal interpretation that purported to apply previously adopted civil rights laws to transgender individuals.

In other news, this week we learned that AIM still exists.

The District of Columbia has decided not to risk an appeal of a lower court ruling striking down its restrictive concealed-carry law.

Reports are indicating that President Trump will decertify the nuclear weapons deal with Iran. This would be a foolish and potentially dangerous mistake.

A very weak jobs report thanks mostly to the impact of two Category 5 hurricanes.

The nation’s only competitive Governor’s this year appears to be going in favor of the Democratic candidate.

After Sunday’s referendum, the government of Catalonia says it may declare independence from Spain as early as Monday. However, it’s likely to be a completely meaningless act.

Don’t hold your breath, but the Las Vegas shooting may actually prompt Congress to do something.

Some interesting statistics.

Tensions continue to rise between the White House and Foggy Bottom.

The Las Vegas shooting provides a good opportunity to enact a common sense gun control law that even Second Amendment advocates agree is called for.

The Supreme Court appears split on the question of whether or not partisan Gerrymandering is unconstitutional.

Donald Trump is undermining his own Secretary of State’s efforts on North Korea, and he doesn’t seem to care.