Outside the Beltway

It’s undemocratic and we should get rid of it. But doing so isn’t a panacea.

While I was originally content to let Brett Kavanaugh sail through to confirmation, I now feel compelled to oppose his nomination to be a Supreme Court Justice.

Republicans intend to “plow through” on the Kavanaugh nomination even after yesterday’s hearing, but it’s not clear that they have the votes to confirm him.

Trade deals take more than an afternoon chat.

Echoing the Obama Administration, the Trump Administration is arguing that it did not need Congressional authorization to attack Syria earlier this year.

Donald Trump’s dereliction of duty in response to clear evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election is a staggering and flagrant dereliction of the duties he agreed to take on when he took the Oath Of Office more than a year ago.

Rand Paul is likely to miss the main stage for next Tuesday’s debate, so his campaign is already calling on CNN to change the rules.

A Federal Judge has ruled that the N.S.A. metadata collection program is unconstitutional, but it’s unclear if the ruling will have much of an impact.

As expected, the Senate easily passed the two-year budget deal early this morning.

Last night reinforced what I thought about some candidates and changed what I think about others.

Matthew Dickinson takes a stab at explaining “Why So Many Republicans Are Running in 2016.”

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

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

Rand Paul Is at a distinct disadvantage compared to his fellow Republican candidates for President.

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.

Rand Paul is out with one of his more forceful attacks on Republican hawks to date.

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 House has passed a bill that would place real restrictions on the National Security Agency’s data mining program. Now, it moves to the Senate.

Director of National Intelligence now tells Congress that he testified falsely about NSA spying because he forgot the program existed.

A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that the N.S.A.’s data mining program is illegal, but its ruling may not have a very big impact.

President Obama will ask Congress to authorize a war he started six months ago.

Has the legislative branch abdicated its responsibility in US foreign policy?

Not surprisingly, a law passed in the wake of the September 11th attacks has been used mostly for things that have nothing to do with terrorism.

Facing a tough re-election battle, Kansas Senator Pat Roberts is engaging in abject fearrmongering.

The sad truth is that the bipartisanship that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 no longer exists today.

If something is going to be done about an out of control National Security State, it’ll be because the American people demand it.

Does a determination that NSA data collection practices are likely unconstitutional mean that Edward Snowden’s actions were, in some sense, justified?

The world changed significantly twelve years ago today. Will it ever change back even a little bit?

Prism ain’t got nothin’ on the Hemisphere Project.

President Obama is doing precisely what Senator Obama warned us about.

Chris Christie waded into the debate going on in the GOP over foreign policy. His comments were less than helpful to say the least.

An overweight Republican from the northeast is thinking about running for president. No, not that one.

A privacy rights group has filed a Petition with the Supreme Court regarding recent actions by the FISA Court.

Marco Rubio has suffered a reversal of fortune among Republicans thanks to his role in the immigration reform debate.

Even if you trust the current occupant of the White House to exercise the powers granted to the agencies operating in secret under him, do you trust all future Presidents?

The ACLU is suing over the NSA’s data mining. Does it really have a chance?

Just because NSA data mining is legal, that doesn’t mean it’s proper or that the American people should tolerate it.

Big Brother is doing more than just checking your phone records.

The NSA’s data mining project is about more than just subpoenas for cell phone records.

Apparently, it’s not just reporters whose phone logs the Obama administration is tracking.

Once again, national security wins and privacy loses.

The American people aren’t panicking.

Are civil liberties once again at risk in the wake of the bombing attack in Boston?