Outside the Beltway

Two Amtrak crashes in less than a week is newsworthy. It is not, however, a trend.

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the District of Columbia’s restrictive concealed-carry law.

In light of a recent Supreme Court decision, the Federal Government is ending its defense of an effort to revoke the trademarks of the Washington Redskins.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Federal Government cannot deny trademark protection because a requested trademark is “disparaging” to a racial or ethnic group.

Part Two in a series of observations about health care and health insurance in light of the introduction of the House GOP’s health care plan. This post examines several ideas advanced by conservatives, and the reasons they aren’t complete answers to the problems we face.

Budget hawks in the GOP face a showdown with Donald Trump’s spending ambitions this year that will likely decide whether we’ll ever get spending under control.

The problem with all the replacement talk is that there is no evidence that the GOP pathways will work.

It is a misguided and foolish attempt to try and buy votes without appearing to buy votes.

March’s Jobs Report was good, but could be better.

Should we treat terrorists as trolls?

Hilary Clinton crushed Bernie Sanders in Mississippi, but was surprised by Bernie Sanders in Michigan. Nonetheless she still remains in control of the race.

As autonomous vehicles near the point where they’ll become a presence on American roads, are we approaching a day when it will largely be illegal for people to drive their own car?

The United States and Europe are giving everything the perpetrators of the Paris attacks hoped for.

A much stronger than expected October Jobs Report suggests that the Federal Reserve is likely to move on interest rates, and raises questions about how economic issues will play out politically in 2016.

September’s Jobs Report was disappointing to say the least, and calls into question the Federal Reserve’s apparent plan to raise interest rates in the near future.

Time is running out for Joe Biden to make a decision about running for President, and it’s still not clear what he’ll do.

Vice-President Biden dropped another hint that suggests he might not be up to running for President.

If you’re under 21 in Hawaii, you’re still technically an adult but you can’t buy tobacco.

Legislators in Tennessee have taken the “gun rights” argument further than it was ever intended to go.

The Supreme Court is set to decide if the state can deny a license plate with the Confederate flag design because it is “offensive.”

Another mostly good, but not great, jobs report.

After several months of good news, the August Jobs Report was quite a disappointment.

While not as big as previous months, the July Jobs Report was still mostly good news.

Stephanie Kwolek was looking for a way to improve tires. She invented a life-saving material.

The news gets worse.

The Justice Department thinks police should be able to search the smart phones of anyone arrested for anything.

Adding paywalls isn’t stopping the decline of the newspaper industry.

A big setback for the UAW.

The Nothing But Nyet Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

The era of the electric car isn’t likely to arrive for a long time, if ever.

Some good numbers for November in the Jobs report, but questions about the future remain.

Nothing to write home about in the September Jobs Report.

An odd lawsuit out of France.

In a move that was perhaps inevitable, the City of Detroit has filed for Bankruptcy Court protection.

New technology brings the day of round the clock tracking of citizens who’ve done nothing wrong ever closer.

Thanks to archaic state laws, you can look at cars in a Tesla showroom, but in my states you can’t but anything there.

Will drivers really be okay with Google tracking everywhere they go in their self-driving car?

Most of us suck at driving. Soon, we won’t be allowed to drive.

Are we heading toward an era where a diagnosis of mental illness becomes an instrument for state oppression?

The New York Times breaks the shocking story (“That Cuddly Kitty Is Deadlier Than You Think”) that cats kill birds and small mammals.

Firearms are set to pass the automobile as the instrument for American deaths.

Will the massacre of twenty children in a Connecticut elementary school mark a turning point in America’s gun culture? Don’t count on it.

Thinking can be an uncomfortable exercise.

American politicians are using China as a scapegoat for America’s problems.

Last night’s debate was rough and tumble, but it’s unlikely to change the state of the race.

Think the auto bailout was a success? Think again.