Outside the Beltway

The Supreme Court rules that “offensiveness” does not trump the First Amendment. And they’re right.

Of the 314 police and firefighter unions in Wisconsin, only four endorsed Scott Walker.

Why not include police, firefighters and state troopers in the ban on collective bargaining?

The situation in Bahrain continues to evolve as the state has pulled back the stick.

Neither side is covering themselves in glory in the battle over the Badger State budget.

Democratic Congresswoman Betty McCollum has received death threats after questioning the wisdom of the U.S. Army sponsoring a NASCAR Sprint Cup team to the tune of $7 million a year.

A new poll finds that Republican policies on immigration are chasing Latino voters straight into the arms of the Democratic Party.

The Egyptian military is promising a quick transition to new civilian leadership. Will they live up to their promise?

New York Times writer Adam Liptak discovers that a Supreme Court decision protecting “corporate speech” might not be a bad thing considering that he works for a corporation.

An interpretation of the events in Egypt.

The Egyptian army has publicly ruled out a use of force.

Mohammed el-Baradai had harsh words for Hosni Mubarak and the United States when he spoke today from house arrest.

Information made public by Wikileaks appears to have played a role in sparking the protest movement that has brought down the President of Tunisia.

The Republicans are increasingly the party of white America. That’s short term good but long term bad for the GOP.

Andrew Sullivan makes a rather bizarre charge offhandedly: “Who among the neocons would have thought that one of George W. Bush’s final legacies would be bringing pogroms, bombings and genocide to Christians in his new zone of freedom?”

The TSA’s crusade to fondle whomever they please continues.

A Federal Appeals Court in Ohio has handed down what could become a landmark ruling in the application of the 4th Amendment to the Internet.

Is the West’s string of luck about to end?

There’s been much talk recently about treason charges in the Wikileaks case, an most of it has been entirely wrong.

Are the American people finally waking up to the absurdity of TSA security theater? One can only hope they are.

An imaginary letter from Mick Jagger to “the journalist Bill Wyman” in reference to Keith Richards’ new autobiography has been making the rounds. Oddly, everyone seems to think Jagger actually wrote the piece.

Salon has video of the aftermath of the Hopfinger handcuffing. Plus: if we remove the partisan labels and just assess what happened, would we view this situation differently?

Don’t ask Senate candidate Joe Miller questions he doesn’t want to answer else his security team might cuff you.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars has endorsed Ron Klein, who never served a day in uniform, over retired LTC Allen West, a decorated veteran of several foreign wars. Is this an outrage?

Why do innocent people confess to crimes they didn’t commit, and what should we do about it ?

An academic study reveals that police officers with college education are less violent than their peers. But the real story is how violent cops are, period.

New reports indicate that New Orleans Police were given orders to shoot looters amid the chaos after Hurricane Katrina hit the city. Fortunately, that never happened.

Glenn Greenwald argues that the “Ground Zero Mosque” debate is about more than just a “mosque” near Ground Zero. He’s right, but that also means the debate is likely to get uglier.

Under what authority can the police lock down an entire city block, restricting our freedom of movement absent probable cause?

Ross Douthat’s latest New York Times column demonstrates an appalling misunderstanding of history in the context of immigration.

A helpful guide to the pleasures of navigating our nation’s capital by car, bike, or foot.

Americans get apoplectic at stories of police officers shooting people’s pets but seem unphased when they shoot innocent human beings.