Outside the Beltway

An important free speech case is coming up this week at the Supreme Court.

Republicans sure have changed their mind about Vladimir Putin.

A controversial member of George W. Bush’s foreign policy team is up for a post in Donald Trump’s State Department.

A surprising name is emerging as the likely pick for the nation’s top diplomatic position.

Good riddance.

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

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.

Donald Trump’s admiration and praise for the dictatorial leader of Russia should be sufficient reason to disqualify him from being President of the United States.

A high-level French Court has struck down the ban on the so-called ‘burkini’ adopted by many towns along the French Riviera.

A Federal Court has barred the Federal Government from enforcing guidelines on the rights of transgender students in public schools.

As expected, Hillary Clinton went with the ‘safe’ choice, and has selected Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate.

President Obama will leave office as the first two term President who presided over eight years of war. It didn’t start with him and it won’t end with him.

A new poll finds strong public support for enhanced background checks and barring people on Federal watch lists from purchasing weapons.

In overturning former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s conviction, the Supreme Court has sent a powerful message to overly zealous prosecutors.

The Supreme Court has once again issued a ruling that further chips away at the protections of the Fourth Amendment.

Stopping the next Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Syed Farook, or Omar Mateen is likely to be a lot more difficult than the politicians on either side of the aisle are leading us to believe.

As expected, the Senate rejected four gun control measures introduced in the wake of the attack in Orlando.

A group of states led by Texas has filed a suit in response to new guidelines from the Federal Government regarding the rights of transgender students.

In a huge step forward for criminal justice reform, Virginia’s Governor has restored voting rights for some 200,000 people who have paid their debt to society.

A victory in the fight to reform civil asset forfeiture laws.

The Governors of Connecticut and New York are joining President Obama and Hillary Clinton in favor of a really bad idea.

Donald Trump’s plan to bar all Muslim immigration to the United States is being widely condemned by his fellow Republicans and others, but the proposal probably won’t hurt him politically in a Republican Party that is deeply bigoted against Muslims in general.

As we deal with the fall out from the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, we need remember the years after September 11th, 2001 and avoid holding an entire religion responsible for the actions of fanatics.

A new poll taken in the wake of the Paris attacks finds Americans increasingly fearful of ISIS attacks in the U.S., opposed to the admission of Syrian refugees, and not very confident in President Obama’s ability to deal with the ISIS threat.

Remarks by a Democratic politician in Virginia regarding the Administration’s Syrian refugee program have brought up disturbing reminders of a shameful time in American history.

The Supreme Court is now considering a case that deals with the problem of overly broad civil asset forfeiture laws and a Defendant’s right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment.

The nurse who was detained by New Jersey officials in a quarantine despite not displaying any symptoms of Ebola is suing Chris Christie and others for civil liberties violations.

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.

Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis says she won’t interfere in the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Donald Trump’s immigration plan is would create a police state, violate people’s rights, and hurt America’s economy. And his supporters will most likely love it.

A Clerk in Kentucky appears to be headed for a showdown with a Federal District Court Judge that she is destined to lose.

It’s a Donald Trump debate, where the facts are made up and the truth doesn’t matter.

Rand Paul’s Presidential campaign isn’t going so well at the moment.

A County Clerk in Kentucky is being sued because she thinks she can refuse to do her job and still keep that job.

It was a close vote, but Virginia’s Republican leaders did the smart thing yesterday in picking a primary over a convention in 2016.

Debating the proper role of the judiciary.

Wherein I take the view that as our understanding of language changes, so too does our application of the Constiution.

Good for her.

It could cost you $250 to say “F- Arlington” if you happen to be in Arlington when you say it.

The American people don’t believe that liberty should be sacrificed in the name of security, but their leaders largely don’t care.

So much for freedom of speech.

The Senate passed a bill that renews, and modifies, the Patriot Act

Don’t believe everything you read in the papers.

Many provisions of the Patriot Act lapsed at midnight, but apparently the world hasn’t ended.

The Senate returns tomorrow to try to pass an extension of the PATRIOT Act before it expires, but it may not be able to do so.

The Senate went home last night without passing a bill to renew the PATRIOT Act, which expires at the end of the month.

Rand Paul held the Senate floor for nearly twelve hours yesterday to talk about the PATRIOT Act, but it’s unclear if he accomplished anything.

Fresh off an election victory, British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to propose a series of new measures to crackdown on extremism that raise serious civil liberties concerns.

The Baltimore Police Department will finally be under the Federal microscope. But it took the death of Freddie Gray for it happen.