Outside the Beltway

Will Joe Biden be on the podium with Barack Obama at the 2012 Democratic convention, or will there be a new running mate?

Some thoughts on the American experiment at 235 years and counting.

A rider in a protest against motorcycle helmet laws crashed his motorcycle and died from head injuries he would have survived had he been wearing a helmet.

220 years in, we lack basic agreement about what the United States Constitution does

British professor Julian Lindley-French offers a tongue-in-cheek essay for the 4th of July: “American Independence: Time to End the Experiment.”

While it’s true that the South and the Heartland disproportionately contribute to our all-volunteer force, the notion that our forces are mostly Nebraska farmboys is false.

Tennis’ most aristocratic championship is also its most democratic.

It’s often said that 1950s sex symbol Marilyn Monroe was a size 12. It just isn’t so.

The nation’s capital is the worst place to drive in the country. But it’s a surprisingly safe place to walk.

Leon Panetta has been brought in to oversee significant cuts to the U.S. Defense budget. Meanwhile, we’re in six wars.

Cory Maye has spent ten years on death row after a trial tainted by racism and corruption. In a few days, he will be free.

A few liberal law professors say Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should resign now so President Obama can pick her successor.

Ann Coulter explains why she’s not a fan of the late Princess Di: “”I find it a little baffling when Americans get so gaga-eyed over a princess. In particular Lady Di, who was just this anorexic, bulimic narcissist.”

While it’s always dangerous to extrapolate too much from high profile cases to the system as a whole, the strange case of Dominque Strauss-Kahn practically invites it.

The US handing Libya over to NATO is “like Beyonce saying she’s ceding control to Sasha Fierce!” – Jon Stewart

The Obama administration has released its report to Congress on what the White House staff makes. How you interpret it depends on your own economic status and your views of government in general and this president in particular.

The New York Times keeps digging up new facts about yesterday’s shocking reversal in the Dominque Strauss-Kahn case.

Further thoughts on Dominique Strauss-Kahn and our justice system.

Danger Room’s Spencer Ackerman reports on an alleged secret CIA interrogation facility somewhere in the former Soviet Union.

A Federal Appeals Court struck down an Amendment to the Michigan Constitution today as unconstitutional.

A homeowners association in Augusta, Georgia is coming under fire after denying Homes For Our Troops a permit to build a house for a paralyzed African-American veteran.

The Ronald Reagan that Republicans lionize is very different from the one who actually served as 40th President of the United States.

The Stephen Colbert Super PAC that began as a satire has now been blessed by the real FEC. What exactly this means is not yet clear.

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been released on his own recognizance and freed from house arrest after credibility issues surfaced with the woman who alleged sexual assault.

The Obama administration is arguing the 14th Amendment renders the debt ceiling moot.

Remember Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the arrogant French aristocrat whose career was ended by a courageous chambermaid, shedding light on a corrupt social system? A funny thing happened on the way to the slammer.