Outside the Beltway

The Supreme Court heard argument in a major campaign finance case yesterday.

An employer has scored a major victory in its fight against Obamacare’s contraceptive coverage mandate.

The AP has the Supreme Court banning demonstrations at the Supreme Court. The regulation in question doesn’t actually do that.

One Congressman thinks it would be a good idea to treat journalists as criminals.

The Obama Administration’s aggressive pursuit of leaks is threatening freedom of the press.

Sharing some thoughts and soliciting feedback on what the 2nd amendment means.

For some reason, Paul Ryan decided to talk about school prayer this weekend.

The United States Congress can still work together to pander before election season.

The Koch brothers will spend more money in this election cycle than the entire McCain campaign did in 2008.

Opponents of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United continue to miss the point of what the case was really about.

The US Supreme Court has struck down the Stolen Valor Act, which made it a federal crime to lie about military honors, on free speech grounds.

A North Carolina teacher screamed and cursed at students for criticizing President Obama.

Some questions for opponents of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.

The NYPD is wantonly violating the 1st Amendment.

A case pending in Maryland raises the question of when boorish online behavior crosses the line from protected speech to criminal act.

Is S&P’s downgrade of the US bond rating “free speech” and thereby protected by the Constitution?

WSJ has a blistering editorial seeking to put the NewsCorp hacking scandal in perspective.

The Netherlands is considering a new animal cruelty law that would effectively ban kosher and halal slaughter practices.

The next shoe has dropped in the battle between campaign finance laws and the 1st Amendment.

“She asked for it” is no longer an acceptable argument in rape cases. So, why is a preacher in Florida burning a book being condemned by American political and military leaders for a days-long murder spree in Afghanistan?

If we allow the possible reaction of the most dogmatic, evil people who might hear the message to govern our expression, we don’t have freedom at all.

At what point does the legitimate right to demonstrate cross the line into infringing on the rights of others?

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

A New York judge has sided with comedian Jerry Seinfeld in a bizarre lawsuit by a crazy woman who writes cookbooks.

Dr. Dre is arguing that police officers have no right to privacy.

Constitutional interpretation is easy, right?

Sarah Palin has taken to her Facebook page to raise “Serious Questions about the Obama Administration’s Incompetence in the WikiLeaks Fiasco.” They’re more interesting than I’d expected.

Some Republican Senators-elect are imploring Harry Reid not to consider any treaties during the lame duck session.

Should members of the Armed Forces and other public employees have the same rights under the 1st Amendment as the rest of us? Or should they be more like journalists?

Everyone from David Petraeus to Sarah Palin is speaking out against a nutbag pastor’s Koran burning event. While they’re right, they’re emphasizing the wrong message.

Representative Ron Paul does not mince words on the subject of the Park51 project.

Steve Emerson has reportedly found 13 hours of tape of Cordoba Initiative chairman Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and found him to be a “radical extremist cleric who cloaks himself in sheep’s clothing.” Does it matter?

Barely half of Americans think Muslims have a Constitutional right to build a mosque near the World Trade Center and 18% think mosques shouldn’t be allowed anywhere. That’s why we have a 1st Amendment.

Sarah Palin decided to get involved in the “Doctor Laura” Schlessinger controversy, and in the process displayed a blatant misunderstanding of the First Amendment.

The 9th Circuit yesterday ruled that Stolen Valor laws violate the 1st Amendment and that there is a limited right to lie.

President Obama’s decision to speak out on the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” has turned what was a hot-button cable news item into a political issue that even his fellow Democrats don’t want to deal with.

Can a public university expel a student for a religiously-motivated aversion to homosexuality?

A common sense decision on broadcast “decency” standards was handed down by a Federal Appeals Court today.