Outside the Beltway

Congress is considering a bill that would establish a commission to examine the issue of reparations for slavery.;

The original ‘scandal’ was silly. The follow-up is sillier.

Northern Virginia is slowly undoing an anachronism.

Last November the state voted overwhelming to amend its constitution. The lawmakers they elected at the same time are sabotaging it.

A reading recommendation.

National and Virginia Democratic officials are calling on Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to resign over racist photos in his 1984 medical school yearbook.

Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith has made several mistakes since Election Day, but she’s likely to win tomorrow’s runoff election.

Yes, it’s still okay to celebrate America.

Contrary to what many people have claimed, the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Hawaii did not overturn one of the most controversial decisions in its history.

Jack Johnson, who was convicted of violating the Mann Act in a case obviously infected with racism, has been pardoned by President Trump.

The new President of the National Rifle Association has a new theory to explain mass shootings, but there’s no basis for believing it’s accurate.

Oliver North is fitting right in at the N.R.A.

Johnetta Benton was caught on tape in a 15-minute rant against President Trump’s campaign slogan. She ain’t wrong.

A woman who was at the center of one of the most important Supreme Court cases in American history has died at the age of 75.

Under Nelson Mandela’s leadership, the country made a smooth transition from apartheid. Now it’s going the way of Zimbabwe.

Robert Guillaume, who starred in situation comedies in the 70s, 80s, and 90s such as “Soap,” “Benson,” and “Sports Night,” has died at the age of 89.

Hugh Hefner, who became both a cultural icon and a catalyst and reflector of vast social changes, has died at the age of 91.

The battle over Confederate statues that was resurrected by the violence in Charlottesville is off the front pages, but that doesn’t mean it’s over quite yet.

The First Amendment protects the rights even of the people who gathered in Charlottesville to promote hatred and violence, However, it does not shield them from the consequences of that speech.

Facts are stubborn things.

Hatred and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Symbols shape our views of the past.

Another judicial slap at the Trump Administration.

A movement motivated by hurt and fear turned into a political force eight years ago. Can another follow suit?

Calling it neo-fascist is not hyperbole.

The political fight over North Carolina’s so-called “Bathroom Bill” has moved to the Federal Courts.

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 look at the history behind the ideology driving the standoff in Oregon.

Protests by students at Princeton are causing some people to finally pay attention to some inconvenient truths about America’s 28th President.

Five months after Charleston, Mississippi is still struggling to rid itself of symbols of the Confederacy.

Finally.

The people who continue to claim that the Confederate Flag is about anything other than hatred, racism, and a nation that celebrated slavery are lying to you and to themselves.

An important tenet of the internet is “don’t read the comments.” Well, I have violated that rule of late–which means more musings on the symbols of the CSA.

President Obama gave an interesting and somewhat unusual interview to a podcaster late last week, but the media is obsessed over a single word.

The murders in Charleston have revived a debate that should have been over a long time ago.

Indiana is about to become the latest state to grants special rights to religious business owners.

Sadly whenever Alabama is first at something (save perhaps in football) it is never for something good.

Some on the left are suggesting Democrats should write off the South for the foreseeable future, but that would be as foolish as Republicans assuming that their dominance in the region will last as long as Democratic dominance did in the century after the Civil War.

Not surprisingly a new poll finds that African-Americans perceive the American justice system far differently than whites.

The Army brass is worried about its diversity in critical mid-level posts.

A great American writer has passed away.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s choices in home decor raise an interesting question.

In an ideal world, we would be more tolerant of leaders who held controversial positions. We don’t live in that world.

Some recent political science on the subject.

Some on the American right have a very odd view of both Nelson Mandela and the Apartheid regime he fought against.

Fifty years after the Stand in the Schoolhouse door, there’s another standoff with recalcitrant states on civil rights.

A case out of New Mexico presents an interesting collision of First Amendment rights and anti-discrimination values.

Your latest Outrage Of The Day.

Yes, it ended slavery. But at a huge cost.