Outside the Beltway

A joke(?) gone a-rye.

Hasan Minhaj is a serial liar. Does it matter?

France shines new light on an old problem.

The stand-up comic is gone at 76.

Stuff from last week and over the weekend that might be of interest.

What are the limits of representation?

Is the creepy comic’s comeback complete?

A Black columnist argues that Will Smith set back a whole race.

Thomas gets the ball rolling, and I take off from there.

Addressing an analytical pet peeve (and, more importantly, correcting a mistake).

Musings about US politics and culture.

Out of a sense of fairness, I gave a listen.

Since when is it a crime to say stupid things on “The View”?

The industry is changing rapidly.

The beloved comedian and actor is gone at 65.

The first modern stand-up comedian has died at 94.

Our brains are wired to seek approval but may not be equipped to handle our modern existence.

The SNL comic has died of cancer at 61.

Rural-urban is now a bigger divide than North-South.

With an appearance by Caitlyn Jenner’s choice of party.

His stale jokes about eating dog have drawn fire for years.

The quasi-monopoly power of the world’s largest bookstore is problematic. Maybe.

Not of governance.

A quadrennial tradition.

A legendary comic is gone.

Another bow to the inevitable.

Arguably the best comedian of his generation is not kidding around.

Another controversy amid a reality show State of the Union address.

One side is arguing over rules while the other is focused on consequences.

Politics makes strange bedfellows.

Trying to nail down some basics about a very complicated situation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky finds himself in he middle of an historic American scandal, and with a new nickname.

Just days before he repeatedly pressured the President of Ukraine to reopen a closed investigation involving the son of former Vice-President Biden, President Trump suspended military aid that had been authorized by Congress.

The latest allegations about exactly what the President may have been trying to do in a phone call with a foreign leader that caught the attention of a whistleblower are becoming more serious by the day.

Stories from sites like The Onion are routinely shared on social media and perceived as real news.

Jeffrey Epstein’s death by suicide has led to many legitimate questions that should be investigated. It has also led to the rise of a number of baseless conspiracy theories.

Herman Wouk, best known for works such as The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance, has died at the age of 103.

Legendary Comedian Tim Conway has died at the age of 85.

A classic demonstration of the old maxim, “the medium is the message.”

Ku Klux Klan jokes, fake lynchings, and the like were routinely depicted even at places like Cornell.

Virgnia’s governor has to resign. But not because of some 35-year-old photos.

Roger Stone, who worked with the Trump campaign in an official and unofficial capacity throughout the campaign, has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is the latest Democratic entrant into the 2020 race for President.

One of the longest-lasting characters on The Simpsons may not be long for this world, but before we write him off perhaps we ought to stop and think.

After forty years, a sexual predator finally gets at least some of what he deserves.

Entertainers work for a living, too.

The masturbator-harasser is doing stand-up again.

Recently indicted Congressman Duncan Hunter Jr. is blaming his apparently estranged wife and the so-called “Deep State” for the fact that he’s charged with embezzling a quarter million dollars from his campaign.

Hours after she unleashed a racist Twitter tirade, Roseanne Barr has had her show canceled by ABC. Of course, ABC knew who it was doing business with well before today.