Outside the Beltway

With a relatively smooth announcement, Donald Trump has named a solid and qualified conservative who will likely be confirmed to the nation’s highest court.

Alabama’s Jeff Sessions will become the nation’s top law enforcement officer. That’s not a good thing.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Federal law and the rights of transgender students.

Wherein an initial attempt to understand something seen on Facebook leads to ruminations on religious liberty.

The Supreme Court begins another term faced with the prospect of having to spend much of their time dealing with the fact that they’re short a member.

It looks like we won’t have Roy Moore to kick around anymore.

America’s largest voting bloc is heavily turned off by Donald Trump, and that is posing long-term problems for Republicans in general.

The death penalty appears to be effectively dead in Delaware thanks to a decision by the State Supreme Court.

Once again, the GOP platform is turning into a surrender to social conservatives on issues such as same-sex marriage and transgender rights.

Mississippi tried to provide special protection to opponents of same-sex marriage and transgender rights. A Federal District Court Judge, properly, finds the law to be unconstitutional.

Californians are set to vote on marijuana legalization in November and, this time, it looks like it will pass.

Depending on the outcome of the election, the Supreme Court’s just concluded term will most likely be remembered as the point at which the Court’s rightward tilt that began at the end of the Warren Court Era came to an end.

Donald Trump has insinuated that President Obama is not fighting the War On Terror aggressively because he somehow identifies with terrorists.

Deflategate isn’t over yet and, depending on what happens in the Courts, could still be unresolved at the end of the N.F.L. season that begins in September.

Nearly one year after the Supreme Court’s historic decision, public support for same-sex marriage continues to rise even among groups that were previously strongly opposed to it.

The political fight over North Carolina’s so-called “Bathroom Bill” has moved to the Federal Courts.

Surprising results from a new poll regarding “bathroom” bills and transgender Americans.

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has been removed from office again.

The passage of a new law in North Carolina has revealed an apparent obsession among some on the right with who gets to use which restroom.

For most Americans, the debate over same-sex marriage is over and marriage equality has won. This would not, however, include the social conservatives who continue to have a much too vocal role in the Republican Party.

Is President Obama planning a Checkmate move in the SCOTUS nomination fight?

Donald Trump says he might sue Ted Cruz over his citizenship if Cruz continues attacking him.

Hillary Clinton eked out the narrowest of wins in Iowa, but now she’s headed to New Hampshire where Bernie Sanders holds a seemingly insurmountable lead in the polls.

Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio have won the endorsement of the Des Moines Register, but it’s unclear how much this will help their respective campaigns.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore tells Probate Judges they should not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in clear defiance of the law and his duties as an officer of the Court.

We will have a two party system for the foreseeable future.

Delaware has become the latest state to liberalize its laws regarding marijuana.

The Cobbler’s Son Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

The Supreme Court has declined to accept an appeal challenging a law barring certain types of so-called ‘assault weapons’ in a Chicago suburb.

Marco Rubio is telling conservative Christians in Iowa and elsewhere what they want to hear on same-sex marriage. It just happens to be complete and utter nonsense.

The Obama Administration is asking the Supreme Court to review a ruling that kept a hold on last year’s immigration execution action in place.

Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee recently kept company with a very disturbing religious leader.

Kentucky Governor-Elect is backing a change in state law that would eliminate the problems created when Kim David refused to issue marriage license to same-sex couples.

A decision from Mexico’s Supreme Court has opened the door to legalization of marijuana south of the border, but it’s likely to proceed much slower than in the United States or Canada.

You may not be aware, but your local Starbucks is the new front in the ‘War On Christmas.’

The Supreme Court is diving back into the debate over the PPACA’s birth control coverage mandate.

A controversial marijuana legalization initiative that even many pro-legalization advocates opposed, lost in Ohio last night. But the nationwide momentum in favor of legalization will likely not be abated.

Marco Rubio has won the support of a top Republican donor and bundler, giving a much needed boost to his campaign.

Public support for marijuana legalization continues to rise. As with the marriage equality movement, it’s obvious where this will end, The only question is how long it will take to get there.

An FCC rule from a bygone era may get Bernie Sanders and company some time on NBC.

The marriage equality issue is resolved, but that doesn’t mean the Supreme Court won’t have a lot of high profile cases on its docket over the next eight months.

Thanks mostly to Republicans unhappy with the Court’s decisions on same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act, public disapproval of the Supreme Court is nearing a new high.

She’s where she’ belongs.

When did “politics” become a dirty word?

A lawyer for one of the Deputy Clerks working for Kim Davis raises the concern that she is once again interfering with the issuance of marriage licenses in violation of a Federal Court Order.