Outside the Beltway

The President issued an incredibly confusing order that contradicts the advice of his generals and is probably illegal.

There are no magic foods. Cleanses are unnecessary and probably unhealthy. But we’re still eating a diet high in crap we know we shouldn’t eat.

More whimsical than most of my selections but we could use that right about now.

This week’s photo.

From Europe to the Middle East, to Asia, America’s allies are concerned about what the selection of John Bolton as National Security Adviser means going forward. They should be, and so should every American.

President Trump is not being bold on drugs. Instead, he is just recycling old, failed idea.

Fred Kaplan fails to make the case for buying an ultra-high definition TV right now.

Congress passed a funding bill to avert a shutdown with time to spare early this morning, but now the President is threatening a veto.

Donald Trump may be getting ready to act as his own Chief of Staff. That would be a huge mistake.

Is Google acting as a good citizen here? Or abusing its market dominance?

The guy from Real People? He’s rich.

Top White House staffers were preparing to fire several troublesome figures at once when the President suddenly upended the plan.

Uh oh.

Republicans on Capitol Hill worried about all the leaking coming from the Trump White House would be wise to actually do the oversight the Constitution compels them to do.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is suing the publisher of the National Enquirer for the right to tell her story of an alleged affair with President Trump in 2006.

A top basketball prospect is skipping the farcical year in college before turning pro.

A state trial court Judge in New York has ruled that a defamation lawsuit filed in Manhattan against President Trump can go forward.

Turkish security personnel who assaulted peaceful protestors in America’s capital will go free.

Americans actings as agents for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been working hard to manipulate the President.

The JK Rowling-owned fan site is having trouble competing with fan-owned sites.

This is no way to run a railroad.

Andrew McCabe, fired for a “lack of candor,” ordered an investigation of the Attorney General for a “lack of candor.”

Profiles in courage? With Republicans in the Trump Era, it’s more like profiles in cowardice.

Mississippi’s Governor has chosen a replacement for Thad Cochran, but the White House isn’t too happy about the pick.

If there are charges of criminal wrongdoing, we’ll definitely know. Otherwise, it all depends on how he sees his role.

A new report confirms that the White House has indeed required staffers to sign non-disclosure agreements that are clearly not enforceable.

A gadfly candidate who has denied the truth of the Holocaust won a GOP primary in Illinois because nobody ran against him.

Breitbart News appears to be fading in terms of readership, but the alt-right politics it represents is not going away.

President Trump continues to obsequiously praise Russian President Vladimir Putin

The network’s longtime “strategic analyst” is “ashamed” of his association because they’ve become a “propaganda machine.”

The Nigerian terrorist group has released an unknown number of the 110 girls kidnapped from a boarding school last month.

Repeated studies have demonstrated their bias against women and minorities. Why do we use them to make employment decisions?

A man suspected in a bombing spree killed himself with explosives as authorities were closing in.

ESPN the Magazine has broken out the slide rule to rank the top athletes during its first two decades.

The Supreme Court appears ready to strike down a California law requiring Crisis Pregnancy Centers to provide information on abortion.

Sometimes, it’s all in the framing.

I hope Ben Carson has a comfortable couch at home.

Mississippi has passed a law that seems designed to directly challenge the underpinnings of Roe v. Wade.

Challengers to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling on Congressional redistricting suffered two big setbacks in court yesterday that suggest that they’ve reached the end of the road legally.

A famous name enters the race to challenge Andrew Cuomo, but it’s unlikely she’ll have much of an impact.

A feel-good story is unlikely to have a happy ending.

A package exploded in San Antonio overnight. It was believed bound for Austin. It would be the fifth in a spree of bombings in the city this month.

We don’t yet have enough information to assign blame here. Naturally, that’s not stopping anyone.

As we wait for “an all-out snowstorm for the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC-to-Boston corridor,” a storm has already hit back home.

Joseph E. diGenova has touted the theory that rogue FBI elements have tried to frame Trump in the Russia probe.

The head of the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation admitted yesterday that the committee was never focused on any potential evidence of collusion.

It may be time for transparency on pay structures so employees know what others in comparable positions are making.

A report in The Washington Post says that White House Staff under President Trump have been required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

The special counsel may be moving beyond the 2016 campaign and into post-election obstruction of justice.

To nobody’s surprise, Vladimir Putin has won re-election to another term as Russia’s President.